Rebellion
by sarsars
Summary: Nintendo World has had a personal army for years protecting the inhabitants from danger.  When someone breaches the World's defenses and becomes its army's Commander, the rest of the World and the Realm Representatives, are left to fight it
1. Prologue

In the Mushroom Kingdom, in a dark alleyway near the edge of Toad Town, two toads stood directly across from each other. One was leaning casually against the brick wall, scraping dirt out of the crack of two bricks in an effort to keep from falling asleep. The other had already fallen asleep, and his faint snoring barely reached the ears of his partner. Both were standing at the opening of a long, dark tunnel that echoed any small noise ominously.

"Two months," the toad grumbled after taking one of many glances at the tunnel entrance. "I love Mario and the princess, but guarding this entrance six hours a day for two months has almost been too much to bear! I'd quit if this job wasn't so easy. But the boredom!" In his frustration, he kicked the other toad awake.

"What's going on?" The other toad asked groggily, clumsily grabbing his fallen spear. "Something finally come through?"

"No, but we have to stay awake in case something actually does come through," replied the former toad.

"Like anything will ever come through," the latter toad whined. He threw his spear back down, where it clattered off the stone. "We were asked to guard this a year ago! I haven't slept nights in months!"

"It's only been two-" The former toad began, but he heard faint footsteps. "Do you hear that?"

"Just my stomach grumbling," the latter mumbled. "Did you know I haven't had a feast in ages, either?"

"After tonight I'll buy you a shroom steak," the former said. "Now be quiet and get your spear. I think I heard something." His grip on his own spear tightened.

The two toads listened carefully for even the faintest noise. After a minute of listening, both heard a faint voice grumbling from the tunnel. They glanced at each other and stepped into the tunnel. They immediately felt their bodies tingle and their gazes were veiled in a faint light blue. Their senses had magnified, and they immediately sensed danger.

"What's going on?" The latter asked loudly. The former toad quickly ran to his partner and slammed his hand over his mouth.

"What was that?" A deep, gruff voice came from deeper in the tunnel.

The former put his hand to his lips in a shushing gesture, removed his other hand, and slowly tiptoed deeper into the tunnel.

"But isn't this why we were guarding the tunnel in the first place?" the latter whispered. "In case we heard anything suspicious. Let's alert the princess, quickly. I didn't like the sound of that voice."

"Just move on," a slightly higher but equally gruff voice commanded. "Whatever Richard heard was probably a rat. We know the mission, so let's carry it out. No talking."

"I swear I heard something," Richard pleaded. "Tiny voice as high as Willicent's."

"Shut it," a high voice replied. "My voice may be high, but my balls are bigger than yours!"

"What language," the latter toad mumbled. "Who are these guys?"

"That's what we're going to find out," the former replied. "Follow me."

The pair traveled in silence through the curving tunnel for a few minutes before hearing a loud stomp right around the corner. "Oh shoot!" The latter whispered. "Let's leave!"

"Argh, damn it all!" Richard growled. "Stepped on a knife or something."

"Richard, you're a grown man," said a voice deeper than any of the ones the toads heard before. "Suck it up and quit being a baby. And shut up, too. Something may hear you."

"He'll wake up the whole town, the way he shouts," said another, vaguely familiar, voice.

"Seriously, guys," said Richard from the floor, nursing his bleeding foot. "It was a knife."

"Then your bitching would've warned them," said the deepest voice.

"Seriously, Richard, don't you know when to shut up?" replied a fifth voice.

"Let's stab a knife through your foot and see how you react," Richard replied.

"Can we please continue our mission?" The slightly higher voice replied. "I want our reward quickly. Richard, will you be okay?"

"Yeah," Richard replied. "I'll hobble behind you."

"Good enough," said a sixth voice. "Let's move!"

In the time the voices had spoken, the two toads had crept up as close as they dared. They hid in the shadows as six men, five large men and one tall, lanky man, walked past them, all carrying large guns and wearing full-body camouflage armor. Several grenades and ammo clips were in various pockets of their belts and each of their boots contained a knife.

"What're they going to do to the Mushroom Kingdom with all of that stuff?" The latter toad whispered quickly as soon as they had passed. "Are those weapons? They could kill everyone!"

"We can't sneak past them, but we can't let them get through," the former replied. He couldn't believe what he was about to suggest, but there was no other choice. "Should we… kill them?"

The latter toad bit his lips in thought for a few seconds. "For the good of the Kingdom," he answered, gripping his spear and ignoring a whisper in his head, urging him to reconsider.

"Then get ready to attack on my signal," said the former toad. He, too, heard a whisper. The pair stepped out of the shadows and ran to catch up with the soldiers, ducking down to muffle their footsteps. They aimed their spears at the two soldiers in the back, waited for the former toad to whisper the signal, and threw the spears straight into the men's backs. The two cried out in pain before collapsing. The four other men ran back to their comrades, wedged the spears out of their backs, threw them aside and checked their pulses.

"They're alive, but hurt," said the deep-voiced man, the largest one of the group. "More damn traps?"

"They're prepared for us. Should we turn back?" Willicent asked.

"We carry out the mission," said the higher pitched soldier, lifting Richard to his feet. "You alright, pal?"

"Lenny, Richard, you two okay?" The familiar looking, as well as sounding, soldier asked as he lifted Lenny.

"I hate this tunnel," Richard replied. "I didn't get hurt because the armor stopped the stick, but darn it! Why am I the one who keeps getting attacked?"

"Maybe the traps have a whiner magnet?" The deepest voice offered.

As the soldiers spoke, the two toads carefully walked to their spears and grabbed them again. They decided to aim for the heads next time, as their armor covered nearly their entire bodies. They lifted their spears over their heads in preparation to throw them again when Lenny glanced around and spotted them. "What the hell are they?" He asked, shocked, pointing at the toads.

"Throw," said the former toad. They threw their spears at the soldiers: one hitting Lenny in the neck and causing him to collapse again; the other landing harmlessly after Mark ducked. Four of the men shot blindly at the two toads, who had jumped back into the darkness and dove around the curve. The familiar soldier stayed slightly behind the men, slowly walking toward the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Did we get them?" Willicent asked excitedly. "I think we got them!"

"No blood," noticed the higher pitched man. "Probably didn't get- wait! Lenny!" He finally noticed Lenny and removed the spear from him. He checked his pulse. "It's faint. He needs medical attention ASAP."

"We don't need him," the deepest voice replied. "I don't wanna carry the large bastard through this tunnel. Leave him for the troops."

"He's barely breathing," replied Willicent, getting medical supplied out. "I'll patch him up, but we can't risk moving him until we finish the mission."

"What about the toads?" The familiar soldier asked.

"Toads?" repeated Richard. "Frogs? They didn't look like frogs to me, Mark."

Mark replied. "They're called toads. Did you listen to nothing James said?"

The higher pitched soldier, the one helping Willicent with Lenny, grinned. "I like you, Mark. Not many people say that."

The deepest voice sighed in frustration "Finish patching Lenny up. I want to go into that town and raise Hell. I'll kill all of those 'toads' in Lenny's, uh, honor."

"No you won't," the latter toad shouted and, before the former toad could stop him, ran into the open and threw his spear at the largest man. He dodged and fired at the toad, hitting him three times before he could avoid the bullets.

"Oh no," Mark whispered inaudibly.

"Sweet damn, I love this gun," said the largest man. "It made Swiss Cheese out of that thing. Now, then, you 'toad'! If you ain't dead, you'll die knowing this: We are going to go to your village, kill people, burn houses! Then the real army - the one a thousand times bigger than us - is going to burn your kingdom to the ground!"

"No you won't," shouted the former toad, who had crawled up to Richard, pulled out the knife from his boot, and threw it at the largest man. It twisted in midair and the hilt hit the man in the stomach and fell harmlessly to the ground. "Shoot."

"Don't shoot!" Richard shouted, diving aside before the largest man could fire. The former toad was then showered with bullets. His last breaths would have been filled with excruciating pain, but a mysterious force numbed the pain.

"Damn Bark," Richard said after getting to his feet. "I almost feel bad for the guy."

"He tried killing me," said Bark. "The bastard deserved it."

"Willicent, run!" Mark suddenly shouted. He had pulled out a grenade and thrown it at Bark as soon as he shouted. He took off toward the Mushroom Kingdom while the other soldiers ran the other direction, abandoning their fallen comrade.

All three passed over the latter toad, who had heard his partner's death and knew what was coming. Like his partner, his pain was numbed, but unlike his partner, his last breaths consisted of four words of hope: "For the Mushroom Kingdom." Before he could finish another breath, the grenade detonated, engulfing the toad and Lenny and collapsing the tunnel in its fiery blaze.

Mark slowed down when he reached the end of the tunnel, dust following him as he stopped. After checking for any witnesses, he crept out of the tunnel, stripped his camouflage, threw it against the wall, and grabbed his hidden blue overalls, red shirt, and signature hat from behind a loose brick. After dusting them off, he searched the armor for the pistol hidden in the belt and the knife. After weighing the weapons in his hands, he checked the amount of ammo the pistol had and slid both in his pockets - just in case.

"Mamma mia," Mario muttered, rubbing his head and setting his hat on his head. The gravity of the events a few minutes prior had only just seeped in. He had seen two toads die. He had caused one of them. The first unnatural deaths in Mushroom Kingdom history. "Poor Toads. Poor, poor Toads! I'm so sorry you had to die. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

He spent a few moments with his hat over his heart in a respectful salute, silently mourning his fallen comrades and contemplating what had happened over the last few hours. His mission wasn't over. He had to perform one last duty to the Kingdom: "I have to warn the princess before it's too late!"


	2. Chapter 1

After quietly sneaking out of the alley, Mario walked towards Peach's castle as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself. The sun was only just rising, so there was little reason to worry about being seen, but to avoid questions and accidentally letting something slip, he had to be inconspicuous. He wanted to warn the nearby toads in case the upcoming attack reached the Mushroom Kingdom before they could properly prepare, but Princess Peach came first.

The castle was a large, mysterious place: secrets were hidden in the oddest places and hundreds of rooms made up a giant maze which had only partially been explored by the current generation. It was a magnificent building that had passed through Peach's bloodline for centuries, said to be impenetrable by the history books, although the Kingdom had never been in a war that could test that claim. Mario reached the castle easily enough, having traveled to it numerous times and it being visible for miles. Before he could enter, however, two toads who guarded the front gate crossed their spears when Mario got close.

"Please, guards, it is urgent," Mario pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Mario, but you know the precautions," one of the toads replied.

Mario sighed, annoyed at the delay, "Princess Peach rules over this land. Protect her, and she will protect you. Guard her, and she will guide you. Now, guards, please?"

The two guards nodded and removed their spears, allowing Mario to pass through. He entered the castle and ran up the several flights of stairs to Peach's bedroom, where his friends and pseudo-enemies – Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Yoshi, Birdo, a Blooper, a Hammer Bro, and a Dry Bones - were waiting. When Mario entered the room, he was immediately greeted by Luigi, who hugged him tightly.

"Mario! You're safe!" Luigi asked, a slight tremble in his voice. "Can we go home? Is it over?"

Luigi was joined by Peach and Daisy, who hugged Mario as well. "We can't go home," Mario answered. "I found out terrible things. I'm sorry, Peach."

"It's fine," Peach replied, her eyes slightly puffy. "Please, please, Mario, we're just glad you're okay. You wouldn't believe the things Wario had said. We were so worried."

Mario glared at Wario, who said, "I just told them you didn't have a chance at surviving, where I heard you were going. I was wrong. Welcome back."

"I'd have shut him up if he wasn't so large," Yoshi assured him. "Glad to see you're back, Mario."

"Now, please, tell us what happened," Peach continued. "Don't leave out any details if you can."

"We should set up defenses and get ready to evacuate immediately," said Mario. "The story isn't as important as the information."

"In order to completely understand what we're going up against, we have to know everything," said Peach. "Please, Mario, I need to know what happened to you. The defenses can wai-" She stopped, blinking away tears. "Please, the story."

Mario knew she had been worried sick about him. Wario's comments hadn't helped. He didn't want to waste any time, but he wasn't going to argue. "Very well," he said, and he began.

* * *

Mario had removed his signature clothes before entering the tunnel . Weeks earlier, the Kingdom had acquired a set of the army's camouflage armor, and so Mario put it on before entering. The guards were on their unexcused lunch break, so this was the best chance Mario had of getting through to the Final Destination realm unnoticed. Mario hid his clothes in a loose brick of the alley wall, checked the various pockets of his new clothes for supplies, finding a pistol in one and a sharp pocket knife in another, and made his quiet journey through the tunnel.

As he entered, his eyes were veiled in light blue. His body felt weightless, and his mind clear. His fingers twitched and his body tingled occasionally like he was being pleasantly shocked. Any doubt of his mission's success vanished. What replaced it was immeasurable confidence. He had a goal, a drive: to protect his home and his family. And as he thought about his friends, he thought about the dangers ahead, and he realized how pitiful they seemed.

"The tunnel," Mario whispered. "You helped me. Thank you."

Mario felt like no time had passed as he entered the tunnel, yet already he saw the light of the tunnel's exit growing brighter. His hand reached for his pistol – instinct telling him he had to, morals telling him to resist – and he listened intently for any sounds outside the tunnel. He was sure there would be guards outside the other end, but he didn't know how many, and he didn't want to get caught, and he didn't want to resort to killing.

He entered the Final Destination realm and was blinded by the intense light. Even the Mushroom Kingdom's sun wasn't as bright as this. He blinked several times to get his eyes accustomed before realizing he was alone. Then he realized his location: he had stepped forward into the realm before taking note of his surroundings. To his astonishment, these guards had also left for an unexcused lunch.

"Stupid," he muttered, walking off the dirt path and into nearby bushes. "You could have been killed, Mario. Don't make a mistake like that again." Already his confidence was waning. He wished to run back to the tunnel, but he had to focus. This opportunity would not last.

After taking a few moments to check for passing soldiers, he stepped out of the bushes and began his walk down the path. He saw a jeep filled with soldiers driving by. After a moment's hesitation, he flagged it down and hopped inside with the others, thanking the driver and keeping his head low to avoid attention. Nobody questioned him, but he did notice one particularly tall and familiar-looking man staring at him curiously. The jeep drove the soldiers into one of the many hundred camps scattered throughout the realm, all surrounding the main city.

The jeep stopped at the edge of the camp, and Mario and the other soldiers climbed out of it. Mario stepped out of the soldiers' paths and tried to get an idea of his surroundings. Surrounding him were hundreds of dark green tents, each one twenty feet high and as large as a building. He kept his head down, but he was the only soldier not to move from the jeep, and his blank staring made him appear lost and confused. The tall soldier from earlier walked up to him.

"Hello," he began, sticking out his arm. "Are you new? You seem new. My name's Willicent, and yours?"

Mario shook his hand, recognizing the voice but not wanting to take a risk. He had memorized the dog tag, which he carried around his neck, that had come with the armor. "Mark. Smith."

"I see," replied Willicent, looking at Mario curiously. "Have I seen you before?"

"Didn't you say I seemed new?"

"You just look familiar," said Willicent. "That's all."

"I feel the same. Where are you going? Can you tell me about this camp? And about the army in general? If you'd be so kind."

"I came here from another camp, so I have no idea what this camp is about, but if I'm right: the two will be similar enough. Follow me."

Willicent ushered him away from the entrance and tried pointing out the various facilities. True to his word, he had no idea of the specifics of the layout of the camp, and each of his sentences began with "I believe". However, Mario wasn't paying too much attention. He noticed something among the soldiers: anxiety. Hundreds of soldiers walked around the base, but nobody was actually training. They seemed to be waiting for something.

Before Mario could discover what that something was, Willicent pulled him behind a tent. "Mario, they're attacking the Mushroom Kingdom tomorrow."

"What did you say-" Mario began, but before he could finish Willicent shushed him.

"You need to be less conspicuous, my friend. I'm Waluigi," Willicent whispered. "The Princess sent-"

"Waluigi?" Mario interrupted. "We thought you'd died! You should've seen Wario! I'm so glad to see you're okay."

Waluigi grinned, "I was sent here by Princess Peach three weeks ago to spy on the armies and figure out when they were going to attack. I got sidetracked and didn't report anything for a while, so I can understand why everyone thought I died. I guess that's why they sent you here. My replacement."

"Well, I-"

"It doesn't matter," Waluigi waved it aside. "Were you given the task I was given?"

"Espionage?" Mario offered. "That was my only mission."

"Strange. But it's her decision." Waluigi wasn't talking to Mario. "Anyway, you'll be glad to know that I can give you all the information within the hour. You see, I was sent to this camp because I've been put on a team that will go to the Mushroom Kingdom tonight. I'm going, but six hours earlier. I was planning on leaving as the jeep left, but I thought you looked familiar."

"Oh," said Mario. "Sorry to delay your plan."

"Assume I'm your espionage," Waluigi joked. "Let's leave. Now."

They exited the tent and were greeted by an old, bald man wearing a clean, dark green officer's uniform and a hat with four gold stars on the front. He was standing straight up, a man as average as Mario, yet commanded respect.

"Men," he said, calmly. Waluigi saluted immediately, Mario a few seconds later. He looked at Waluigi closely. "You are the men I received?"

Waluigi looked at Mario and stuttered. "Oh, no, sir, only I was sent."

"I received intelligence of a strong warrior named 'Mario' who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom," replied the Major. "Another man won't hurt the mission's odds of success. Now, soldiers, your names?"

"Willicent Wickham."

"Mark Smith."

"Ah, Willicent, the one I was assigned," said the Major. He turned to Mario. "I am Major Williams. Congratulations, soldier. I have no idea who you are or what you're capable of, but if one of my men is willing to go into private with you, then you're good enough. And this mission isn't important enough to throw off the war." Mario mouthed that last word. "So, make this mission a good one. Make us proud."

"Sir," intervened Waluigi. "I don't believe Mark is capable of this mission."

"Then make sure he doesn't slow you down," replied Williams. "Follow me, soldiers."

Forced to follow the major, the pair was unable to speak to each other. Neither could believe what had happened; their entire plan foiled because they were trying to be inconspicuous. They were led across the camp until they reached a tent that was indistinguishable from those around it. However, Williams led them inside with no doubt as to its inhabitants.

"Boys," Williams shouted, causing the four men inside to salute. "At ease. You'll be glad to know that part of this mission's burden will be taken off your shoulders. And given to this man-" he pushed Mario forward. "You're all here. Go over the mission. Meet at the camp's entrance in three hours." He left.

"Why do we need someone else?" One soldier, one with a similar build to Waluigi, slightly shorter, with larger front teeth and a southern accent, spoke. "Mission'll be easy enough with five." He eyed Mario. "I don't see anything special."

Another soldier scoffed. This one was similar to Mario in build, but with large ears, large eyes, and a goatee. Tattoos surrounded his shirtless chest. "Better not get in our way."

The third man, a large black man that overshadowed everyone in the room, sitting in a corner and polishing a gun, merely grunted. Mario turned to him and he grimaced, showing a gold tooth.

The fourth walked up to them and extended his arm, his boyish face grinning happily. "Happy to have you aboard. The name's James." His voice was slightly higher than the others, but that was mainly due to the fact that he appeared to have barely aged past his teens. He pointed over his shoulder to the tall man. "Lenny-" then to the tattooed man. "Richard" –and finally to the black man. "Bark."

Mario and Waluigi gave their fake names before James gathered everyone around a large table in the middle of the tent. James then gave a very detailed description of their mission, and an even greater description of the rewards that would follow. Mario listened to every word, but his mind was drifting elsewhere. Here they were, surrounded by the most powerful army in the world, listening to a plan to attack their Kingdom, and they could do nothing but watch. There was an imminent attack; all of the signs pointed to it. What they were doing tonight would start the war.

What Mario could understand was that they were to set a perimeter around the Mushroom Kingdom's tunnel, securing an access point and ensuring that the entrance would be clear.

"Of course," Richard joked. "What they don't tell us is that we'll be setting off all of their potential traps."

Waluigi glanced at Mario at this, as if to ask whether there were traps. Mario shook his head subtly. Although he had thought to step over one spot, that spot couldn't contain anything to severely harm their mission.

"Any questions?" James asked, two hours after he had begun his explanation.

"What if we don't remember anything?" Lenny asked.

"Then watch the others and hope they're doing it right," James answered. "Grab a carbine and a pistol and attach a suppressor to both. Stash a knife in the slot in your boot , but ignore the night vision goggles. They aren't necessary. Keep away from explosives. We're taking this as silently as we can."

"So none of your girlish screams, Richard," Lenny said. Richard stood up and glared at him. "We know you from training."

"You and Bark. You don't know anything."

"What about the time Matt held a spider over your head as you woke up" Lenny replied. "The whole platoon ran into our barracks looking for some action." Bark chuckled at this. A deep, bulldog-like bark.

As the others spoke, Mario and Waluigi walked over to a corner with the façade of checking their newly acquired guns.

"What do we do?" Mario asked.

Waluigi sighed. "Tonight, when we enter the Mushroom Kingdom, we'll kill them. Then we tell the princess."

Mario looked back at them. Sized them up. "We're dead. I- I don't think I could kill them."

Waluigi bit his lip. "It's them or us, Mario. You're going to have to ignore your conscience. " He glanced at the four men checking weapons. "Besides, we both know what they aren't."

"So what did you learn?" Mario asked, trying to change the subject.

"Basically, the army has fifty thousand men to dispose of. Thanks to a little… sabotage, that will be their maximum numbers-"

"You destroyed-" Mario began, raising his voice, but Waluigi shushed him. They turned to the others, who had assumed he was talking about a past mission or something similar, and didn't glance at him.

Waluigi nodded nevertheless. "The good news is that news hasn't reached the man in charge, so the original plans are still in action. Their strategy is swarming when we're unprepared. For big – what did they say… lands? Areas? – like the Mushroom Kingdom, they'll be sending five thousand. For smaller, but still threatening, three thousand. And for ones deemed no threat, only one thousand."

"Only," Mario repeated sarcastically.

"I'm surprised they don't have more men," Waluigi wondered. "Peach did tell me the machine's been running nonstop for two years."

"Took too much power after the first surge," Mario replied. "So, swarm when we're defenseless. When's the main attack?"

Waluigi checked his watch. "In twelve hours."

Mario groaned. "We have no time to prepare a counterattack."

"Mario, I want to emphasize this: we cannot fight them." Waluigi picked up the gun. "I'm sure you've heard of this. Can shoot three bullets a second. Each bullet can pierce through-" Mario had looked away. Waluigi grabbed his face and forced it to look at the gun. "Sorry… can pierce through several toads if they hit their mark. The guns are accurate and powerful. And each soldier is given at least one. And even if by some miracle we manage to stop the first wave of five thousand men with over five thousand guns, not including those grenades or those rocket launchers, Mario, they have vehicles. Large machines that can roll over karts and reduce them to nothing, which can withstand thousands of these bullets. And I doubt bullet bills could destroy them. Hundreds of these vehicles prepared to crash through the Kingdom. Even if we destroy all of these vehicles, they'll have thousands more men ready to clean up whatever survived."

He breathed deeply. Mario had shed a tear. "Our best plan is to evacuate the city. Get everyone to a safe place. Tell the Princess and ring the bell."

"Maybe Bowser's men-"

"Wherever Bowser is, I'm sure even he would tremble at this army."

"The army was meant to protect us," Mario said. "Not kill us. How could this have happened?"

Waluigi blinked. "I thought you knew how it happened. I overheard Wario."

"I know. I'm just… in such disbelief. I never considered how unstoppable this army actually is."

Waluigi walked over to the grenade box and picked two out. He gave one to Mario, who held it curiously in his hand. "What's this?"

"Grenade," said Waluigi. "Remove that ring and throw it at your enemy and watch them explode. We only have to kill fifty thousand men, Mario. These will help us with our first."

* * *

They arrived at the tunnel two hours later as the sun set over the horizon, escorted by Williams, who dropped them off with encouraging words: "Your mission is the first step to our victory. When you return, there'll be monuments built in your honor. Do us proud, men." He saluted and drove off.

"We'll do you proud, sir," James grinned, saluting as the jeep disappeared. He glanced at his men and noticed Mario holding his gun awkwardly. "Are you tired, Mark?"

"No," Mario said, fumbling with his gun. "

"If you shoot that gun, you're going to die. Hold it like I am," James said, indicating how to hold it, and Mario corrected himself.

"Now then, men, the Major is right: We're going to start this war; we're going to show the Mushroom Kingdom who has the strongest army. We're going to lead our troops to victory; we're going to be remembered for generations to come."

"Pretty simple mission for such high esteem," Richard noted.

"Hear, hear," James agreed. "That's the best part. Now then, men, are we ready?" When the men nodded their heads, James nodded back and took the first step into the tunnel.

* * *

When Mario got to the fight with the Toads, Peach muttered, "Oh no!" and hugged him tightly.

"After we fought the toads," said Mario. "I panicked. I saw what those guns could do and didn't want them getting any closer to this place. I grabbed the grenade, told Waluigi to run, and threw it at the ground. I shouldn't have done that, I know; Waluigi had much more information than I do. I panicked."

"I- I'm sorry," Wario muttered. "That must've been horrible. I would've cracked, I just know it. I'm sorry for spreading those lies."

"It's alright," said Mario while Peach hugged him tightly once more. "I don't think I did well at all. Waluigi would've had a much better plan, and I don't know if we'll ever see him again."

"Those poor toads," Peach muttered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm glad you're okay, Mario, really I am. You did whatever you had to do, and we respect that. We have to prepare as quickly as possible! Yoshi?"

Yoshi jumped to his feet as quickly as he could. "Yes, Peach?"

Peach turned to Mario. "That place you told me about before we left, you can get us there, correct?"

Mario nodded. "As soon as possible."

"Very well, we have to hurry. Yoshi, run down to Town Square and signal for evacuation. We're all going to safety."

Yoshi nodded. "I'll be back quickly," he said to Birdo and ran out the door. Before he made it a few feet down the stairs, Luigi saw a large explosion from the direction of the tunnel and a few seconds later the castle shook from the blast.

"What's going on?" Luigi shouted. Yoshi ran back into the room, followed by Toadsworth.

"Princess, there was an explosion!" Toadsworth shouted. "Are you fine?"

"Yes, Toadsworth," Peach assured him. "I'm fine."

Mario joined his brother at the window. "We're too late," he muttered.


	3. Chapter 2

"Should I still go?" Yoshi asked. "The soldiers can't get here that quickly, can they?"

"No, Yoshi," Toadsworth said, shaking his head and breathing heavily. "We cannot risk any of your lives. Mario, lead everyone to that haven of yours. I'll go to the roof and ring the bell. Hopefully the citizens will know what to do, if the explosion didn't let them know already."

"You'll follow us of course," Peach ordered. "Please, hurry."

As Toadsworth ran out of the room, Toadette and her boyfriend walked in. "Toadsworth," Toadette called. "What's going on? What was that loud noise?"

"They'll explain!" Toadsworth's faint voice came from down the hall.

"Mario-," Toadette began to repeat her question.

"People are attacking us," Wario interrupted. "We're getting out of here."

"Attacking," Toad repeated. "Bowser again?"

Many of the room's occupants were being ushered by Peach toward the other end of the room. Peach and Luigi pushed the throne aside, revealing a dark, tight passage.

"Everyone go through here; it'll take us out of the castle," Peach said.

"Stay together," Mario commanded, leading Toad and Toadette to the throne. "We don't need anyone running away. We'll wait at the tunnel entrance for anyone else, but we're leaving shortly."

"Wait," said Dry Bones. "Tunnel? Our grand escape plan is going through a tunnel?"

"Shut it, Dry Bones," said Wario. "When you come up with a better plan, tell us. In the meantime, keep your mouth shut and follow Mario."

"They'll be waiting for us," muttered Dry Bones. "When we exit the tunnel, they'll see us and kill us." Wario punched him and, with that, everyone left Mario and Hammer Bro alone in the room.

"Hammer Bro," Mario said, as Hammer Bro was still sitting on the couch. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah," said Hammer Bro, distractedly staring at his hammer and twirling it in his hand. "I'm just thinking about something."

"Think quickly, please," said Mario, glancing out the window and noticing flames spreading across the rooftops. Faint screams were seeping through the crack in the window. "I don't want anyone separated." He disappeared through the secret passage, but kept it open for when Hammer Bro decided to join them.

"This is stupid," Hammer Bro muttered to himself. "After how many years of ruling this kingdom? After centuries? It all comes crashing down like this! This attack hasn't even lasted five minutes and already people are running!" He got to his feet. "I'll see if Toadsworth needs help."

Hammer Bro ran down the hallway and up a ladder that brought him to the roof. He hadn't heard the bell yet, and when he climbed onto the roof he saw why: Toadsworth was lying on the ground, face first, with blood trickling out from underneath him.

"Toadsworth!" Hammer Bro shouted and ran to him. "You alright, man? What happened?" He turned Toadsworth over and noticed the blood was darkest near his left thigh. "Th- that's a lot of blood! Let's get you downstairs."

"Has the princess left?" Toadsworth rasped, clutching his thigh in pain.

"Yeah," Hammer Bro said several times quickly. "They all left. I stayed behind to make sure you were okay. I'm glad I did." He slowly carried Toadsworth down the ladder and was greeted by several toads when he got to the ground.

"What happened?" Many of them asked. "Is Toadsworth okay? Why is there so much blood?"

"He's hurt," Hammer Bro said bluntly. "He's in pain and he needs a doctor. Can someone get one?"

"He's near Town Square," explained one. "I'll get him!"

"Town Square?" Hammer Bro repeated while the toad ran off. "Wait! Don't!" The toad was too far away to hear him. "Are there any bandages around? We need to stop him from bleeding to death. What hit you?"

"I'll get some bandages," another announced and followed the first toad.

"Gun shot," muttered Toadsworth. "Hit by gunshot."

"What's a gunshot?" A toad asked.

"Dangerous enough to cause that," Hammer Bro said, pointing at the wound and knowing he made the wrong decision. "After we get you patched up, we're getting you to that haven."

"No," said Toadsworth. "Too late. Save yourself."

Hammer Bro ignored this and turned to the many toads standing a distance away. "You heard me? Safe haven. Go through that door and go into the passage. If you see Mario or Peach, follow them. They'll get you to safety."

Most of the toads nodded and ran away, but two stayed behind. One explained he was worried about Toadsworth while the other had too much pride to run. Despite Hammer Bro's warnings, both were adamant. When one of the toads came back with bandages, Hammer Bro sighed and gave up. He wrapped the bandages around Toadsworth's thigh, tied the knot tight, and lifted him onto his feet.

"Now, Toadsworth, let's follow the others," Hammer Bro muttered. As soon as he said this, two toads ran into the hallway.

"Toadsworth," one shouted, not noticing his condition. "Men are coming from the village; they're killing everybody! They're going to attack the castle! We need your help!"

"He's in no condition," Hammer Bro spat. "Hold them off as long as you can, but do not risk your lives. Run as soon as you feel you're able."

"Why should we listen to you?" The other toad muttered. "Always throwing hammers at us like we're targets."

"That's exactly what I'm going to do if you don't shut up and move!" Hammer Bro shouted, dropping Toadsworth and pulling a hammer out. The two toads ran away in fear while the others picked Toadsworth up.

"You two can carry him out of here?" Hammer Bro asked. They nodded. "Then I'll hold them off, too. I'll come as soon as I can."

"Princess..." muttered Toadsworth weakly.

Hammer Bro ran after the toads, eventually catching up with them and ushering them toward the front door when they tried to get away. A dozen toads were already blocking the door with various pieces of furniture. Large pounding could be heard from the other side, and some of the toads pushed against the door with all their might. The pounding subsided and the toads continued piling furniture.

"Where are the other toads?" Hammer Bro asked as he grabbed a chair and lifted it above his head.

"We don't know," replied one toad. "We were all in the castle when we heard the explosion."

"I tried telling them," another whispered. "We could be blocking our friends out; that pounding could be from them. We could be killing them!"

"They have time to escape when they realize they can't enter," said a third toad who overheard. "It's not like many of them haven't died already."

"You shut up!" The second shouted, preparing to throw a punch.

"Stupid toads," Hammer Bro muttered. "Stop fighting and help! Stupid conflicts like this aren't going to save us."

"Isn't there a secret passage near Peach's throne?" A toad pondered. "We could all escape through there."

"We don't know if those men have surrounded the castle yet," said another toad. He looked nervously at the door on the second floor. "Should we block that door too?"

"No," said the third toad. "Let's get out of here now. We have plenty of time!"

"Hammer Bro, what do you think?" The first toad asked.

"Who cares?" The third toad asked. "He's one of Bowser's men; the only reason he's with us now is because his employer isn't here anymore. Otherwise he'd be our enemy. He may try to sabotage us."

"How dare you try to sabotage us by helping us pile furniture against the door?" A toad shouted sarcastically. He turned to the toad: "Just shut up about the conspiracy."

"I'm for leaving," Hammer Bro offered. The pounding on the door grew louder and more rapid; the door began to shake with each knock. Furniture toppled over due to the force of the pounds. The toads and Hammer Bro slowly, silently, cautiously walked backwards toward the stairs. As the last of the furniture toppled, the group sprinted up the stairs and down the hallway.

The doors were forced open and following them was a large number of soldiers, many off-balance and stumbling while those behind quickly taking positions and firing at the toads with their assault rifles. One toad was shot in the knee as he was crawling up the last step and collapsed, abandoned as the remaining toads shut the second-floor doors on him.

The group panted, taking in large breaths of air for the brief seconds of peace. Any second now, they knew, soldiers would attack these doors as well. They had nothing to block them with, so they ran down the hallway as soon as they caught their breath. One toad got his best friend to climb up the ladder with him and so the two separated from the group. As the others made it into the next room and the soldiers broke down the doors, the toads had climbed onto the roof.

"What happened up here," one toad gasped as he saw Toadsworth's blood.

"I'm going to be sick," muttered the other. They heard several footsteps below, looked down and saw the dozens of soldiers running passed them. "This was a bad idea."

"Just don't make any noises," warned the first. "They won't spot us if they don't realize we're here."

As the two silenced, they heard faint screaming from the village and louder screaming from the castle. They quietly searched the roof for a way to escape, but before they did the first toad was sniped. He was leaning over the edge, searching for a form of fire escape, and so his lifeless body plummeted to the water, landing with a quiet splash.

"Oh my-" the other toad gasped when he saw his friend fall. "No!" He shouted, drawing the attention of the soldiers below. He realized his mistake, but did nothing to fix it as the soldiers slowly climbed the ladder. He had no reason to fight back, to escape; he had already lost everything.

The group hadn't noticed the two toads' separation until they had bolted the doors to Peach's throne room shut. By then, they could hear the soldiers approaching and knew the pair was doomed.

Hammer Bro searched the room for signs of the toads and found all three of them lying face-first outside the large windows, which had now been shattered, in a pool of blood. He dropped down beside the window and turned one of the toads over to find the bullet wound in his head. The other toad had a similar mortal wound and Toadsworth had bled to death while they lay on top of him.

"Who are they?" A toad asked after catching his breath.

"Wait," muttered another. "Is that Toadsworth?"

"Oh no!" shouted a third. "Toadsworth? Why?"

The toads crowded around him, knocking Hammer Bro aside. Many of them were in front of the window, where Hammer Bro knew the fatal bullets had come from. He was trying to warn the toads, but they were shouting too loudly for anyone to hear him. He walked toward the tunnel, hoping the others hadn't abandoned him, when two things happened.

First, the snipers positioned on the roofs of houses in the village had seen the group of toads and took aim. It wasn't hard: their years of experience and the toads' large heads made the shots some of the easiest they had ever made. As they fired in quick succession, six toads dropped before the group knew what had happened. They tried shooting again, but no other toads were at the window so they searched the remaining parts of the castle.

Second, one soldiers' grenade had gone off right at the door, blowing it off its hinges and sending it flying across the room, crashing next to the throne. A second grenade was thrown into the room, but Hammer Bro saw it and reacted quickly. He grabbed his hammer and, praying that what he was going to do would work, swung at the grenade. The hammer made contact and, instead of exploding, sent the grenade flying back into the hall. As it exploded, soldiers stormed into the room and quickly shot the surviving toads. After making sure each toad was dead and while caring for their own deceased, they searched the room.

The soldiers did not see the secret passage for several minutes after they had entered. Hammer Bro quickly grabbed the door, ran through the entrance, and pulled the door over the entrance, sealing off all light. Knowing full well the toads were dead, Hammer Bro ran without thought, without remorse, without emotion through the tunnel. Only pausing to recover from occasionally hitting his head against the walls he could not see, he made it through the passage within a few minutes. There was an open door at the end and standing at the door was Mario, slightly hidden, carrying a pistol.

"Hammer Bro," Mario began. "What happened? I heard explosions and screams; I saw bullets shatter the windows to the throne room. Are there any other survivors? Toadsworth? Any toads?"

Hammer Bro shook his head, too tired to speak more coherently than short gasps. "Men came, shot, killed. Exploding eggs. Flying doors. Dying toads. Horrible."

"No survivors," Mario said sullenly. He looked around slowly, then looked past Hammer Bro and listened for sounds. He heard none and looked at Hammer Bro. "Everyone is dead?"

Hammer Bro nodded in response. Tears swelled in Mario's eyes, but he brushed them away. "I'm sorry for them. Poor toads. Toadsworth. This only confirms it: we need to escape. They reached the castle and conquered it within an hour of their attack. There are thousands of them. I can't imagine what the village will look like if we ever see it again." He looked at Hammer Bro, who was clutching his side and looked like he would faint. "Hammer Bro, are you able to run?" Hammer Bro nodded. "Then let's go; the others are waiting."


	4. Chapter 3

Mario and Hammer Bro traveled the short distance to the tunnel, trying to block out the screams and explosions from the village. It became so hard to do so that both had to cover their ears and close their eyes, hoping to keep walking in the right direction.

"This sucks," Wario mumbled, staring at the city that many others chose to ignore. "We can't do anything about the city; we're powerless. Now we're abandoning them like cowards."

"Don't say that," Peach whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "We are not cowards. We have no other choice.

"My brothers are in that village," said Toad, clenching his fists. "I should've brought them with us. I had no idea this would happen."

Toadette patted Toad on his shoulder. "It isn't your fault. We'll be alright; we'll save them after we get help."

Yoshi and Luigi glanced at each other. "It's been ten minutes," Yoshi mumbled. "Mario will catch up with us when he gets the chance."

"He'll be fine," said Luigi. "He told us what do so, so let's do it."

The group turned around and walked through the tunnel. As they were disappearing, Mario and Hammer Bro came into view. They had to run, shouting, toward them in order to get their attention. Eventually, they succeeded. When they rejoined them at the edge of the tunnel, Hammer Bro explained what had happened in the castle, including the death of Toadsworth. When she heard the news, Peach excused herself from the group and silently mourned him while the group stood in an awkward silence. After Peach recovered, the group walked down the tunnel and through the next realm.

* * *

"Attack! Attack!"

The words rang out amongst the simultaneous marching of the thousands of soldiers, all heading through the dark tunnel that led to a mysterious place. The leaders could yell these confident words as much as they wanted; they didn't have to fight. They were there to make sure the soldiers kept in formation, and then they would drive home and eat a relaxing meal. The soldiers were the ones in true danger. But for reasons other than war.

One of the soldiers, located near the front lines, was Waluigi. What he hadn't told Mario was that during his stay in the Final Destination realm, he had traveled to the heart of the city and found the machine that created the soldiers. He had destroyed the machine beyond repair using nearly a pound of plastic explosive. It was enough to cause the building itself to crash to the ground. Aside from reconnaissance, that was his primary mission. Now that the soldiers couldn't be created assembly-line style, every soldier was important if the armies wanted to maintain power. He had done this only just before he found Mario, so it was no surprise the news hadn't traveled to the various armies attacking the several realms, and soldiers were being thrown at the enemy in large numbers with no other tactical reasoning other than overwhelming the enemy.

Everyone but Lenny had survived the explosion, and in the panic nobody heard Mario call out Waluigi's name. However, as punishment for failing the mission, they had been sent to different missions in the front lines of each attack. Although he had trained with other soldiers for a few weeks, he struggled to keep in step with those who had trained for literally their entire lives. He wasn't built for carrying large amounts of equipment for long periods of time, so occasionally he stumbled and was almost trampled. He also knew that if the realm they were heading toward was as prepared as he thought, then the first lines - his included - would be the "suicidal" lines.

After what seemed like an eternity, made even longer due to the excess weight, the light from the other end of the tunnel faintly grew. As the first lines got closer, their marching turned into a jog, and then a charge. They pulled out grenades and threw them quickly, then got out their assault rifles and sprinted into the realm. The next few lines did the same. Waluigi stumbled for the fifth time this march and was almost literally trampled, but the soldier behind him picked him up and pushed him roughly towards the tunnel exit. Waluigi didn't know if he should have thanked him or hated him, as he didn't know whether or not he could kill an ally.

* * *

The beautiful, serene, gloriously green fields of Dreamland sparkled in the bright sun. Not many residents were awake this early in the morning, but three of the youngest were running through a flowerbed and enjoying the light.

"This is a perfect day," Tiff announced happily.

"Puyo," agreed Kirby.

"What'll we do first?" Tuff asked. "Tag, hide and seek, or a race?"

"Tag alright with you, Kirby?"

Kirby nodded in agreement and so the three ran around the field in a game of tag.

Meanwhile, the group had entered the realm via the nearby tunnel and quickly discussed their plan. They saw a village close by, overlooked by a large castle, so they assumed their best bet was to get to the castle. They debated only sending their humans to get help in order to stay inconspicuous, but then they saw the trio and, seeing none of them was human, thought against splitting up. They walked over to the trio and saw that they were children.

"Do we want to involve these children," Mario whispered.

"If we don't, then they may be killed by the soldiers who will no doubt follow us," said Yoshi.

"Don't say that," whispered Peach. "We don't need more death, let alone mere children!"

"Sorry," said Yoshi. "Let's ask them to take us up to the castle; I'm sure whoever is up there will know what we should do."

Mario nodded and led the group to the children. "Excuse me, children," he called. "We need your help!"

The trio stopped playing. "Who are you?" Tiff asked, blocking Kirby from view. "What do you want? Did Dedede send you?"

"Dedede," repeated Luigi. "Do we know that name?"

"It sounds familiar," agreed Mario. "Dedede did not send us. We need help. Is there anyone of power: royalty or government that we could speak to?"

"Yeah, there's our king," Tiff answered suspiciously. "But I doubt you'd want to talk to him."

"If he could help us, I'm sure we would."

"Please, children, take us to your leader," Peach said as sweetly as possible. Her tone softened Tiff up immediately.

"Alright, we'll take you there," Tiff said. "Although King Dedede is a mean bird. I don't think he'll help you."

"I'm sure he will, when we explain," said Peach.

* * *

Metaknight and King Dedede were discussing defensive plans for the village. While they had no contact with the Final Destination realm, their constant scouts had given them important information about the armies. Two facts stuck in their heads the most:

"The armies are absolutely powerful and we're severely weak," said King Dedede, slamming the table and nearly shattering the glass. "Why is our land so pathetic? I'm King Dedede: I should have an army as large and as powerful as the opposing army. I shouldn't have waddle dees."

"I sense grave danger coming quickly towards us," Metaknight said, glancing out the windows that overlooked the village. "We must evacuate the village quickly.

"This sucks," muttered King Dedede. "This really, really sucks. We shouldn't have to evacuate." He picked up the captured gun – an exact replica of the weapons used earlier – and examined it for the thirtieth time. "This little piece of plastic is so deadly, and they have thousands of them."

"King Dedede, please, stop playing with it and announce the alarm. We must go quickly if we are to reach Rebe-"

"Metaknight, Dedede," Tiff called, running toward them and leading the large group. "We have some visitors who want to see you."

"Sorry, my liege," a waddle doo said apologetically. "They ran too fast; I couldn't warn you in time."

Metaknight looked over the group and saw Mario. Their eyes locked and they grinned. Mario walked over to Metaknight and patted him on the head while Metaknight reached Mario's waist.

"It's good to see you, Mario," Metaknight said. "Or, perhaps, it's awful to see you. Why are you all here? Why aren't you in your own realm?"

"The attack has begun," Mario said. "We made it out as soon as we could. The armies overran us within an hour. They're coming here next, and as lightly defended as this realm is, I'm afraid you won't survive." He noticed the gun on the table.

"Told you, Metaknight," muttered King Dedede. He got to his feet and surveyed the group as well. "Are these guys gonna follow us to Rebellion or not?"

"What's Rebellion?" Wario demanded.

Metaknight ignored him. "They aren't going to follow us; they're going to lead. Mario knows the realms better than I."

"Is that so," King Dedede muttered. "Waddle doo, quickly run to the village and announce the evacuation. Tell everyone to leave their belongings and go to the castle. Here, we'll tell them where to go."

"Yes, my liege," the waddle doo bowed and quickly ran out of the room.

"Wait, evacuation?" Tiff asked. "Why are we leaving? What's going on?"

"Why do we have to evacuate?" Tuff asked. "Kirby'll take whoever comes near Dreamland!"

"Puyo!" Kirby agreed.

"I'm afraid, children, there are dark times for Dreamland," said Metaknight. "We must leave as soon as we can. Even Kirby, with his infinite powers, cannot stop what is coming."

"It's that big?" Tuff gasped.

"It's that big."

"Metaknight," Mario said, pointing at the gun. "Where did you find that?"

"We've been sending scouts to the Final Destination realm for months," said Metaknight. "They ambushed some soldiers and stole their equipment. This weapon and a small weapon that doesn't work are all we found."

"Does it have any ammunition?" Mario asked.

"Don't know how to check," said King Dedede. "We shot like ten little pointed metal things at a Gordo and they ripped it to shreds. The first time I've seen a Gordo hurt, let alone killed."

"Oh my gosh," Tiff gasped.

"Those things hold thirty," said Mario. "I've held one of those things before, and Waluigi explained how to use it. I- I think I can use it if we come under attack too quickly."

"Mario, this thing can kill," said Metaknight. "Are you sure you're going to be willing to kill?"

Mario glanced at Peach and nodded. "To protect my friends and family, I'm sure."

"So what's the plan, Metaknight?" Yoshi asked. "Where're we going and who're we going with?"

"There are only two realms – I'm sure you will get an explanation about those later – connected to the Dreamland realm: Mushroom Kingdom and Star Fox. Since the Mushroom Kingdom is under attack, we'll go through the Star Fox realm and collect Krystal and anyone willing to come with us. Through there we travel to the Legend of Zelda realm, and then to Rebellion."

"Now I have two questions," Wario grumbled. "What is Rebellion, and what happened to Waluigi?"

Before anyone could answer, they heard a faint explosion. The ground shook slightly beneath them, causing Wario to fall onto his back. This seemed too familiar to Hammer Bro, because he shouted, "Run, everyone, we're under attack!" before calming down and quickly apologizing. Through the windows, the group could see a few tiny dots surrounding a smoking crater, with more dots pouring through the tunnel.

"That was sooner than I expected," Metaknight said. "We have to get the villagers out quickly. Let's go to the village and escort as many people as possible. Hurry!"

Before anyone ran farther than the front door, Mario stopped them briefly. "Someone please escort the women and children to the Star Fox tunnel. If we can't stop the soldiers in time, we have to make sure they're safe."

Metaknight and King Dedede looked at each other. They were the only ones who knew the location of the tunnel. "I'll go," said King Dedede. "Come on, ladies. I'll protect you."

"Mario," whispered Toad. "I can help."

"Toad, we probably won't be able to help," said Dry Bones. "Just get yourself to safety and don't worry about us."

As the men turned to leave, Toad called out, "If you aren't going to help, why risk your lives?"

King Dedede patted Toad on the shoulder. "It's alright little Toad. They're strong and brave; they're going to help. Now follow me and stay close; we don't need anyone else in danger."

* * *

The group ran out of the castle and sprinted toward the village, listening to the screams of the villagers and unsuppressed bullets firing at targets. Mario had grabbed the gun and was contemplating whether he could go through with killing a soldier. The cause was just: these villagers were innocent; the soldiers were not. The internal struggle was growing fiercer as the village grew closer, and Mario began to doubt he could truly kill.

His struggle dissipated with one incident: as they reached the village, they were forced to scatter to escape from a barrage of bullets aimed straight at them. There were two fatalities: Blooper, who had no chance; his corpse was decorated in blood and bullet holes; and Dry Bones, who had split apart. These two acted as meat shields for the others, who were able to separate and get behind cover (a pile of crates, a fence, and the side of a house) before anyone else got injured.

"Blooper!" Hammer Bro shrieked, seeing his dead best friend helpless on the ground. He was able to run and comfort him, but Yoshi held him back. "Blooper, speak! Are you alright?"

"Hammer Bro," said Yoshi, trying to keep calm in his voice despite the situation. "I'm sorry, but he's dead."

"H- he can't be," muttered Hammer Bro, dropping to the ground. "Who did this?"

As if to answer this question, a soldier suddenly jumped out from the pile of crates and was gunned down by Mario, who had fired without thinking. He stared at the soldier, who now looked like Blooper, in disbelief. Yoshi patted Mario on the shoulder.

"You did the right thing," Yoshi said. "You avenged Blooper." He looked at the body more closely. "I can't believe how deadly that thing is. You tore him apart."

"Bad choice of words," muttered Mario, who was tempted to throw the gun away.

Dry Bones had reformed and quickly ran over to the trio. "What happened? Why are there two bloody corpses?"

"Don't talk about Blooper like that," Hammer Bro seethed, reaching for a hammer.

"Let's not get into a fight," said Yoshi. "Remember why we're here? If the soldiers have infiltrated this far into the village, there might not be many survivors left. Run into this house we're next to and see if anyone's still alive."

Mario nodded, held his gun in front of him, and took the lead around the corner. No soldiers were in sight, but the sounds of gunfire were getting louder, and the fires were inching closer. Mario made himself as small as possible as he crept toward the door. He opened it quickly, noting it was unlocked, and searched the room before entering. Hammer Bro, Yoshi, and Dry Bones followed him in as, across the street, another group was searching another house.

The house was small, but cozy, and obviously built for a couple. A cozy fire burned in the fireplace, illuminating the wooden floor and green, plant-like furniture in a warm, red glow. Although the furniture was in place, there were signs of a struggle: the rug, a colorful mishmash of bright colors, had been trampled on and kicked and was now a messy pile of fabric coated in a layer of blood. The small television screen had been cracked as the set smoked uselessly. Upon closer inspection, Mario noticed a set of bullet holes in the wall. And then the smell hit them: a smell that would haunt their nightmares and a smell that they would never forget again.

Plugging his nose, Yoshi muttered, "There's been a murder; we have to get out of here. That soldier you killed may not have been the only one."

As if to answer this statement, the quartet heard a pair of boots stomping around upstairs. Someone was muttering to himself as the sound of running water filled the room. The quartet knew nothing could be done for this house's occupants and they retraced their steps as they walked out of the house.

"Let's try the next house," said Hammer Bro, although they were feeling a growing sense of helplessness. This house was on the edge of the village; if the soldiers had penetrated this far, as Yoshi had said, then there was little hope of survivors.

In the house next door, Metaknight had led his group throughout the house. There was no sign of a struggle, no awful smell of a corpse, no bullet holes, and no destroyed television. The house was deserted; the house's occupants either went quietly or they had luckily made it out before the village was under attack. Metaknight, Luigi, Kirby, and Wario had left the house at the same time as Mario's, and the two leaders shook their heads in defeat when they saw each other.

"I fear we are too late," Metaknight called. Although he spoke calmly, inside he felt regret and remorse. "If we do not leave now, we will share the same fate as the villagers."

In the short time they had searched the houses, the screaming and gunfire had ceased. Only now did the group notice this and they acted quickly: with only a hand signal to guide them, they sprinted out of the village and hid behind a nearby hill. As they turned around, they saw several soldiers walking toward the spot they used to be standing on. The soldiers split up and checked the two houses.

"Now I'm sure they're dead," said Dry Bones.

"Them and Blooper," muttered Hammer Bro. This thought made them realize the danger the soldiers were. Eight of them had run toward the village and seven ran away. The only things that had been accomplished were the death of an ally and a short, unsatisfying revenge.

"It's time to go," said Metaknight. "Follow me."


	5. Chapter 4

In the middle of the Final Destination realm, sitting in his office in the tallest building in the realm, a man wearing green armor, his face shielded by a yellow visor, sat at a professional brown desk. He was listening to one of the many messengers who ran into his office daily. This one, however, was giving him no good news; he was informing the man that an important machine was destroyed.

"Nobody knows how it happened or who did it, but it's gone," finished the soldier. "Whatever that machine did, it won't do it again."

"Leave," said the man. "Quickly." The soldier nodded and obliged.

The man got out of his seat and paced the room. His plan up to this point had gone perfectly: he had taken control of the armies, released the Supreme Generals who were waiting to take command of the realms, he had set up plan after plan, backup after backup, ensuring nothing wrong would happen should he lose even one battle. And then this.

"To think a spy could infiltrate this deep into the realm, this deep into my territory, and locate, let alone destroy, the most valuable piece of machinery, the essential key to my plan." He paused, mulling it over. "Now it's gone. I never thought it would happen. "

He paused again, turned around, and stared out the window. "I have thousands of soldiers. I am attacking the four realms who have the best chance of defending themselves first; I have the element of surprise. I know everything about the realms. I have one ace in the hole should anything go wrong. I shouldn't worry." He looked at the report on his desk: several pages describing the scene and a few photos of the rubble of the building.

"I have an ace in the hole," he muttered. "But it's much more than that. It's the ultimate weapon of war, the only way to sever this world of all hope. Why save it until the end? Why not use it now? After all, it's not like I want to take any chances after hearing this unpleasant news."

He picked up a black cell phone off of his desk, typed one digit, and waited for it to ring. After less than a second of waiting, a hurried voice said, "Yes, sir?"

"The _Destroyer _shall be sent earlier than planned. Travel to the Star Fox realm and take out the three tunnels," The man commanded. He closed the phone and continued: "It's connected to the Legend of Zelda realm. Destroying all of those tunnels means there'll be no chance of anyone going to that specific realm. One realm at a time."

* * *

The Legend of Zelda realm is the second largest realm of the fifteen. Only the Pokemon realm is larger, has more defenses, and is harder to destroy. Although the realm has no true army, the large array of creatures banded together once their leaders, Princess Zelda and Link, told them of the Final Destination realm's army. They knew there was no chance of holding off the armies forever, but their realm had to stay out of the armies' control for as long as possible; they knew their realm was the most important of all. Their realm was the only connection to Rebellion, and they had to maintain that connection until they could fulfill the realm's name.

So, when Waluigi and his fellow troops sprinted into the Legend of Zelda realm, they were met by a large fortification: A formation of Gorons spread across the dirt road the tunnel exited onto, and the remaining space was a semicircle of a large, wooden gate. The Gorons used their tough, rock-like backs to halt the soldiers in their tracks, causing the soldiers to pile up as more came through the tunnel, and dekus hanging in the trees threw their nuts to scatter and injure the soldiers. Waluigi was nearly swallowed by a Like Like as he broke away from the crowd and dove into a nearby hole, but a fellow soldier shoved him away and threw a grenade into the creature's mouth. The creature exploded and its guts flew everywhere. The soldier who saved Waluigi joined him in the hole and began firing at dekus.

By now, the soldiers had realized what had happened, and the half that didn't move to the sides of the blockade to snipe the Dekus had set up a perimeter around the tunnel. On the Final Destination side of the tunnel was a weapons depot, and a rocket launcher was being called in to take care of the wall. In the mean time, the soldiers made do by throwing grenades at the Gorons and the wall. While the explosions were able to throw the Gorons off their feet and make indentions and split the wooden wall, the army needed true fire power.

While they were picking off the last of the Dekus, the soldiers heard a deep rumbling and felt the ground shaking rapidly. They searched quickly for the source of the noise and saw a large pile of boulders – pushed by the Gorons who hadn't made the wall - rolling down the hills toward them. Most of the soldiers abandoned the perimeter and sprinted into the tunnel, but those, like Waluigi, who were too far away to escape the boulders hid in their holes. Luckily for Waluigi and the soldier lying next to him, their hole was just deep enough to allow them to avoid getting harmed by the boulders, and when the boulders crashed into each other and unlucky soldiers, none rolled on top of them. When the rumbling had stopped and the dust had cleared, the few soldiers remaining heard the others blowing up the boulders and pushing them aside. The rocket launcher had been brought forward and, seeing it, the Gorons disappeared. To make use of it, the soldiers blew up the wall, sending splintered wood and sawdust everywhere.

Waluigi left the soldier lying in the hole and joined the bulk of the army that was leading the charge into the realm. Those remaining stayed behind to create a base in case the attack failed. He pushed his way into the middle, shielding himself from any ambushes. Just as Waluigi predicted, the wall was not the realm's only line of defense: as the soldiers crossed a bridge over a calm, blue river, the water began to ripple and bubble. Reptilian Zolas emerged, surrounding the bridges, and aimed fish-like spears at the oblivious soldiers. Only when the Zolas had thrown their spears did the soldiers take notice. As several soldiers were hit and fell into the river, turning its serene aqua into a bloody red, the remaining men fired at the Zolas and chucked grenades at them. The Zolas scattered at the gunfire and the grenades hit nothing but rocks and seaweed. The soldiers, their numbers severely lessened, quickly walked over the bridge, eager to get away from the vicious creatures.

The Zolas had done their job: they incited fear into the soldiers, making them forget their training and tactics, and they killed many of the men. The fear allowed for them to make mistakes: they were so focused on looking in the distance for possible ambushes that they didn't look at their very feet. A few men, Waluigi included, fell down one of the many holes that were dug around the field. As Waluigi fell into the depths, he heard the panicked screams of the men above and knew they were about to fall under attack.

* * *

In the Kirby realm, Mario and his friends reached the tunnel behind King Dedede's castle shortly after they left the village. There, they found everyone surrounding Toad, who was lying on the ground and holding his bleeding leg. Daisy's dress had been torn, and King Dedede was tying it around Toad's wound.

"What happened?" Mario asked as they got within earshot.

"Toad tripped down the stairs leading out of the castle and hit a sharp rock," answered Peach.

"Poor guy nearly cut his leg off," muttered Daisy.

"I don't want to slow you guys down," grumbled Toad. "I'm sorry. Just… just leave me."

"Absolutely not," said Peach and Mario. They looked at each other and smiled.

"I'll carry you, Toad," said King Dedede. He looked at Metaknight. "What happened?"

Metaknight quickly told of Blooper's death and their failure. Everyone had a moment of silence to mourn Blooper and the villagers, and then King Dedede picked Toad up and they walked through the tunnel.

* * *

As the group entered the Star Fox realm, they were unaware of four pairs of eyes staring at them from a mile away, each of their bodies holding a sniper rifle specifically made in Corneria. An orange fox whispered into a headphone, "These people are escorting us out of here?"

A female voice answered back in a British accent, "Yes, Fox. They're our friends."

A tough, confident Brooklyn accent scoffed, "I'll believe it when I see it. I don't trust anyone after what happened to Bill."

"Don't mention that again, Falco, please," said Fox, removing the telescopic sight from his eye and rubbing his head. "Krystal, rendezvous with them and tell them to meet us at base. We need answers."

"Got it," said Krystal.

Fox looked at the sky, where a giant spaceship floated ominously above. "Slippy, where are you? We're getting out of here, and I don't want to leave without you."

Silence. "Slippy?"

"That isn't good," said Falco. Fox looked back through his rifle and saw Krystal, a blue anthropomorphic fox, riding a flying scooter toward the group, who had seen here and were waving happily. Falco's voice spoke suspiciously through the headphone. "Looks like they're happy to see her."

"We can't afford to distrust the few people who can help us, Falco. Not when we're in our position," said Fox. He looked through the scope and saw Krystal leading the group toward their base. "Falco, Peppy, head back to base. We're getting some answers."

* * *

"Krystal, I'm glad to see you," said Mario as he and she shook hands.

"Is the army following you?" Krystal asked, looking beyond them into the tunnel.

Mario glanced at Metaknight. "How did you know-"

"I'll explain when we get to base," answered Krystal. "I can't fit all of you onto my scooter, so we're going to have to walk. It won't be far."

"Can we put Toad on the scooter?" Toadette asked worryingly.

Krystal looked at Toad in King Dedede's arms, and King Dedede looked away. She nodded. "Peppy, our medic, will help with that leg. Put him on the scooter and push him with us."

"We really should leave as soon as we can," said Metaknight. "It's imperative that we get to Rebellion."

"What is Rebellion?" Wario muttered, but King Dedede shook his shoulder to shut him up.

"If you go into the Legend of Zelda realm without any protection, and the army has overrun it, you'll die," said Krystal. "We can't let that happen."

"What are you-"

"I'll explain when we reach base," said Krystal as she began the walk down the hill. "Follow me if you want our help." Confused and bursting with questions, the group followed. They traveled for ten minutes in silence enjoying the scenery and calming down before someone spoke.

"Where'd you get that hovering scooter anyway?" Dry Bones asked.

"My realm has been scouted multiple times," answered Krystal. "Every time they arrive in groups of three, they ride these scooters. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say your realms have been scouted as well."

"Peach and I found one of the scouts hiding in the castle," said Mario, and many of them stared at him in shock. "We questioned him. We learned some things about the army's plan."

"As did we," said Krystal. "Personally, I'm surprised the army gives so much information to scouts. They're easily caught, as you and I just proved, and easily persuaded to give answers."

"You knew about the attack?" Wario asked. "You knew they'd kill us?"

"No, no," said Peach immediately. She turned to Wario with fear in her eyes. "We had no idea they were so strong. We didn't know when they would attack-"

"Please, Wario, don't question them," said Krystal calmly. "They know more than they're letting on and far more than you. They knew what they were doing."

"Thanks to them," said Wario slowly, his voice rising into a shout. "Those toads were slaughtered, and we lost our homes!"

Krystal stopped and turned to face Wario. "From what I can tell, you saw the army. You knew it was coming, and you got out in time. Without Mario and Peach, you would have lost your lives as well as your homes. Don't question their decision. Whatever it was, it saved you. You should be grateful."

"They could've done more," said Wario. He was surprised by the dark tone in Krystal's voice, and his voice showed. He was scared, and his eyes traveled to the sniper rifle Krystal was carrying as he spoke. "They knew the army was coming and did nothing to warn everyone. Our small group could be one of hundreds, had they warned us."

"Tell me, Wario, if they had said we were under attack, what would you have done?" said Yoshi. "The Mushroom Kingdom, after all, has been under attack many times. So often, in fact, that the last time Bowser attacked, no toads did anything. We all knew Mario would save the day eventually, so we weren't worried. Do you think they would've acted any different? Do you think they – the poor, oblivious toads who are so peaceful they don't even enjoy football because of how rough it is – would have panicked if they were told about the power of that army we're running from? I do. Many of us would have panicked, and nothing would get done."

Wario was stunned. He had no counter-argument and the others knew it. They continued along, leaving Wario standing, thinking. Only Dry Bones remained, and he whispered something to Wario. The pair of them glanced at the others and walked off in another direction.

* * *

Krystal's base was a large, metallic dome with many rectangular windows surrounding its three floors and sliding glass doors on each of the four entrances of the base. The dome had to be gigantic, because it housed the Great Fox and the team's many Arwings and Landmasters. The size completely dwarfed anything the group had seen before – including Metaknight's ship Halberd – and left them all stunned. Krystal, used to the size by now, continued on through the sliding doors and poked her head out.

"You all coming?" She asked. "If you want to get to Rebellion quickly, standing still won't help."

They followed her inside and through a white, clean hallway into a small room with a large window that held two grey, metallic tables as well as a bunch of cupboards with labels naming medical equipment. Krystal instructed Toad to wait for Peppy, and Toadette stayed with him. The rest of them followed Krystal through another hallway and into a room which had a large, round table as its only furniture. Standing across from them were an orange fox, a blue falcon, and a grey hare.

"Hello, Krystal," said Fox, grinning. "Hello, everyone else."

"Er, Peppy, we have an injury," said Krystal, pointing behind her back. "Can you please help?"

"Sure thing, Krystal," wheezed Peppy. He continued, "Sorry I can't stay, but I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to talk soon." The others made room for him, and he left the room.

"Are there any chairs?" King Dedede asked, his similar large table having many pieces of furniture surrounding it.

"None are necessary," said Fox. "We rarely stay in this room long, and it'll be the same in this case."

"Aren't we going to get some answers?" Luigi asked.

Fox blinked. "I guess you have the wrong idea. We probably know as little as you." At this, a couple of the others glanced at Krystal suspiciously.

"I, er, told them we'd explain," explained Krystal. "I guess I didn't tell them how much."

"Fox," said Falco, looking out the only window in the room. "That thing's glowing."

"What thing?" Fox asked as he looked out the window. "Oh, that thing." He looked at the group. "Okay, quick explanation: Falco, Krystal, Peppy, Slippy, and I are part of Star Fox. We're all trained in dealing with various weapons and have specially crafted weapons not found anywhere else. We can help you, if you'll let us." He looked out the window again and was relieved to see the glowing stop. "We don't know where the entrance to Rebellion is, and we need that location in order to escape."

"And you have firepower and we don't, you can escort us," finished Yoshi. "I get it: scratch our backs and we'll scratch yours."

Fox smiled sheepishly. "More or less. I find it a fair trade: we'll help each other escape."

"So you don't have any answers for us?" Luigi asked. He glanced at Mario worriedly.

"They can answer one thing," said Mario. He looked at Krystal. "How much did you tell them?"

"When we heard about the army's plans, I told them what they needed to know: the different realms, the strength of the army and why it was created, and about Rebellion," answered Krystal. "Although, Mario, do you really believe that at this moment we should leave our allies in the dark?"

"Master Hand can tell them everything he believes should be said," said Mario. "We can't risk something slip."

They expected Wario to shout, 'Now who's Master Hand?', and when he said nothing the others finally noticed his disappearance.

"Do you think he went to the bathroom?" Yoshi suggested. "He couldn't have gotten far."

"I haven't seen him since the argument," said Tuff. "I think he might've left."

"Dry Bones is gone too," said Daisy. "Knowing them, they probably tried to go to Rebellion themselves."

"I really hope not," said Fox. "If they do, they'll probably be put in the middle of a siege. Two unarmed people don't stand a chance of survival."

* * *

In the medical room, Peppy had just tended to Toad while Toadette held his arm encouragingly. When Peppy announced his work was done, both toads breathed a sigh of relief. Peppy raised his eyebrow.

"The scratch is very minor," he explained. "I put some disinfectant on the wound and sealed it up. It should heal within a week. I'd recommend not stepping on it, though, or it might open again."

"Wouldn't want that," said Toad as Toadette gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, doctor."

"Please," Peppy said happily. "Call me Pepp-"

Toadette's shriek had interrupted him. Staring out the window at them was a large, bulky man in camouflage armor holding an assault rifle and grinning at them menacingly. The man aimed his gun at the trio and pulled the trigger.

In a spurt of adrenaline, Toadette grabbed Toad and pulled him off the operating table and into a corner, out of sight of the window. Peppy had no time to turn around, let alone react to the danger, and most of the bullets and glass went into him. He died quickly, and his body fell to the ground, shielding the two toads from view.

The scout climbed through the broken window and called for his two partners to come with him. The trio looked around for the toads, but they were cowering behind Peppy's body and were out of sight. Nobody thought to look under the corpse, so they assumed they had run away and walked out of the room to search for them.

The two toads were paralyzed with fear, clutching each other for dear life. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, faint gunfire brought them to their senses. "We have to get to the others," Toad said. Toadette nodded, but one look at Peppy's body made her throw up. Toad waited sympathetically for Toadette to finish before the pair of them left the room in search of the others.


	6. Chapter 5

Waluigi had hit the ground hard and was knocked unconscious for several minutes. When he came to, he saw a group of fellow soldiers huddled around the cavern, staring at one soldier speaking into a walkie-talkie.

"Eleven of us-" he noticed Waluigi getting to his feet. "Twelve of us, sir, fell down this hole. We can't see an end to the tunnel, but we can't climb up the hole, either. Your plan of action?" He listened to the walkie-talkie for a few seconds before responding, "Yes sir" and shutting it off. He turned to the others: "We're going through this tunnel. Kill everything in our way. Use any weapons except for explosives. We don't need this tunnel caving in on us." He brought his gun to his chest. "Let's move!"

The twelve soldiers crept through the cave, keeping their heads lowered to avoid hitting the low ceiling, for nearly a quarter of an hour before they came upon a wooden gate blocking their way. Chuckling, one soldier stepped in front of the others and shot through each of the wooden planks, causing them to splinter and tear apart until the wooden gate was nonexistent. He led the way now, but foolishly was still chuckling and didn't see the second obstacle: a bomb that had been rolled at his feet. The bomb blew up right beneath him, blowing his legs off and sending blood everywhere. His legs bounced at the other soldiers, who shouted and ducked lower to avoid them. The soldier screamed in agony, the screams echoing off the walls and creating a horrible, deafening, incoherent noise. To silence him, one soldier shot him in the head, and the others caught their breath, panting despite doing nothing.

"They know we're here now," one soldier said grimly. "Either because of the bomb or his screams."

The leader nodded. "Keep moving, and watch everything." He pointed at Waluigi. "You bring up the rear and watch behind us." Waluigi nodded and the leader, satisfied, pushed himself to the front of the line and continued through the tunnel.

Despite their cautiousness, they fell into two more traps: one was a hidden Punji stake trap which broke under the heaviest soldier's weight and caught him and the man behind him. Although the trap was small, the heaviest soldier's legs were skewered and the other man unfortunately fell headfirst into the trap, killing him instantly. The soldier's legs were cut free and bandaged, but they were forced to drag him behind, helping Waluigi in watching their backs.

The second trap involved three bombs blowing up below the soldiers' feet, causing the ground beneath them to cave in and them to fall into a second tunnel. Only Waluigi and the injured soldier managed to avoid falling into the hole; however, they were pummeled with small rocks and coated with dust, so they were unable to see for many minutes after the initial explosion. When the dust had finally cleared, Waluigi noticed the hole had been covered by rocks, and there was no way of following his comrades. He turned to the only soldier in sight and saw him holding his bleeding shoulder.

"Damn rock got me," the soldier said, chuckling. "What're we going to do?"

Waluigi looked at the tunnel ahead. Who knew how many traps were still active? "I'm going to scout ahead and see if I can get to the others. Stay here in case they dig themselves out."

The soldier, though annoyed, had no choice but to agree. He picked up two assault rifles, handed one to Waluigi, and kept one for himself. Waluigi saluted him and carefully walked forward until the soldier was out of sight. His eyes darted back and forth, and with all of his senses heightened and adrenaline pumping through him, he spoke quickly and quietly.

"This is my one shot of getting out of here. I have to make them realize I'm an ally. If I'm killed, I'm killed, and they'll never know the information I have." He saw light coming from a diverting path. He walked toward that path. "I have to find Link, and I have to get to Rebellion." He could hear muttering beyond the exit, and the sounds of battle echoed faintly through the cave. "The survival of this world may depend on it."

As Waluigi exited the tunnel, he met a half-dozen spears pointed directly at him. He dropped his gun and raised his arms in the air in defeat. The Hyrulian guards carrying the spears stepped aside as one elf walked forward. The elf looked at Waluigi carefully, judging him, seeing how deadly he was. He asked one simple question: "Who are you?"

"Waluigi, of the Mushroom Kingdom realm," said Waluigi clearly and without fear.

The elf was taken aback by this information. He told the guards to lower their spears and said to Waluigi, "My name is Link, and you, Waluigi, are one lucky man."

* * *

"How long do you believe we have until the Legend of Zelda realm is overrun?" Metaknight asked after a few moments of silence.

"We hope never," answered Krystal. "Unfortunately, knowing the strength of the army, I don't believe any realm will last long."

"They would've been as unprepared as you were had we not told them what we knew," said Fox. "After we interrogated a scout, and Krystal told us about the realms, she left to find – Link, was it? – and told him to prepare for battle."

"Knowing the strength of the Legend of Zelda realm, I'd say they could last months before surrendering," said Krystal. "We have plenty of time to get to Rebellion, even if you feel you must hurry."

Just then, they heard the faint sound of gunfire and a window shattering. Everyone stiffened, and Fox told Falco to follow him and for everyone to stay there. They left the room holding pistols, cautiously inching their way down the hall.

"We have intruders," said Krystal. "More scouts, I assume."

"They might've found the Toads," whispered Peach fearfully. At this thought, many of the others gasped and whispered amongst themselves.

After quieting them down, Krystal ushered them further into the room and pushed them against the far wall, out of sight of the door. "If they do manage to find us, at least we'll have the element of surprise," she explained, as she and Mario positioned themselves at the sides of the doorway, ready to attack.

* * *

After they left their hiding spot, Toad and Toadette unknowingly followed the path the scouts took through the base, hoping they'd stumble upon the others. After the scouts encountered Fox and Falco, the two teams positioned themselves on opposite sides of the long hallway, engaged in a shootout. Occasionally someone would pop his head or his gun out to search for victims or shoot blindly down the hall, but otherwise the only action was at the very beginning where Fox and Falco, having the element of surprise, had shot down one of the scouts and forced the other two to hide. When Toad and Toadette came upon the shootout, they were frozen in fear at the sight of the fallen soldier.

One soldier saw them and fired at them. He hit Toadette in the head, killing her instantly, but the rest of his shots flew over Toad's head as he dove into an empty room, carrying Toadette's body with him. He shut the door, panting hysterically, as he caressed Toadette's hand, convinced she was merely paralyzed in fear. When he saw the blood trickling from the bullet hole, he shouted in agony.

"Toadette! No! Y-y-you can't be- you can't!" His screams were heard throughout the building, shocking those involved in the shootout into stopping as they listened. His voice dropped down to a whimper, as he held Toadette's hand in his own. "You're just- just sleeping, that's it. You'll be awake soon, and then we'll find the others and get to safety." He shut his eyes as blood dropped down onto his face.

Although the soldiers had stopped firing, waiting for the screams to continue, Fox and Falco had taken the opportunity to inch their way down the hallway and toward their enemies, intending to ambush them. However, one soldier checked the hallway and noticed them, but instead of shooting at them, he sprinted away, heading for the medical room. His partner stood, confused, as Fox and Falco came out of the hallway and shot him in the head. His body dropped, and Falco caught his gun as it fell. As Falco chased after the fleeing soldier, Fox checked each of the rooms for the source of the screams and found Toad holding Toadette and crying.

"They- they killed her," Toad cried, looking at Fox for help. "I- I- I couldn't-"

"Shh," said Fox soothingly, kneeling beside Toad and patting him on the shoulder. "We got them. They paid for what they did. I'm sorry about your friend."

Toad, through his tears, nodded but continued holding onto Toadette. Falco walked into the room, but before he could speak Fox silenced him and pushed him out of the room.

"What happened?" Falco asked.

"The soldiers killed his friend," answered Fox with no emotion. "Did you find the other?"

Falco shook his head. "Bastard jumped through the window of the medical room and sprinted to his scooter. I couldn't catch him. I- I found Peppy."

"Is he alright?" Fox asked.

Again, Falco shook his head. "They killed him, too."

Fox nodded, his face betraying no emotion, and told Falco in as straight of a voice he could to gather the others and tell them to meet him at the front of the base. When Falco left, Fox walked into the room on the other side of the hallway and closed it.

* * *

Several minutes later, everyone was waiting outside the base after receiving no information about the shootout or recent deaths. Against the advice of Mario, they scared each other with rumors about the scream they heard and the results of the shootout. When the front doors opened, revealing Fox and sniveling Toad, they questioned the whereabouts of Peppy and Toadette.

"They're both dead," said Fox. "They were shot by the soldiers we just killed."

"Why are we leaving so quickly if you killed them all?" King Dedede asked, unfazed by the deaths of people he didn't know. "If you've killed scouts before, why are you worried about this time?"

"Because we let one of them go," said Fox. Falco looked down at his feet. "That scout could tell them anything; we don't know how much he's seen. We're getting out of here before we become a target for housing you all."

Fox, Falco, and Krystal stiffened. Their heightened senses alerted them to the dangers ahead; in a few seconds they were going to be put through mortal peril. Before they could react, they heard a shrieking, metal grinding growing louder and louder. A fiery metallic object was hurtling toward them, its velocity causing it to break apart as it fell, from the direction of the previously unnoticed spaceship. In the few seconds before impact, they could see its shape and noticed that it resembled an Arwing, although it was spiraling uncontrollably and barely resembled its original form after getting melted by the flames.

"Slippy," Fox whispered, as the Arwing flew over the base and crashed in a fiery explosion. The force of the explosion sent many of the lighter characters falling over and shook the giant base into a near collapse. Ignoring many warnings, Fox, followed by Falco, sprinted around the base toward the crash site.

They reached the crater left by the Arwing and immediately noticed that there was nothing left of the once graceful ship and its pilot other than a few pieces of burning metal. Everything else had evaporated in the explosion. Fox got to his knees and punched the ground.

"Peppy and Slippy," he growled. "Two deaths in an hour! Two of my best friends are gone!"

"God damn," Falco muttered, glaring at the giant spaceship. "That must've been what that light I saw earlier: they were firing at him. And…" he looked at the crater. "…they got him."

"That ship is capable of so much more, Falco," said Fox. "Slippy's an amazing pilot. If they could blast him out of the sky, then there are some powerful guns on that ship. We have to get out of here before they fire on us."

Just then, they heard screams coming from the entrance of the base. Unsheathing their pistols, they sprinted toward the sound of the screams. As they rounded the base, they heard another sound: the sound of multiple bullets getting fired very rapidly into the ground. As they reached the others, guns aimed high and in all directions, they saw nothing of their allies but a large cloud of dust impairing their view; they could see nobody's fate. As the dust began to clear, Falco pointed at a scooter hovering several feet in the air, over a mile away. Driving the scooter was the scout that had escaped earlier. He had just thrown a useless assault rifle to the ground and was driving away. Fox and Falco fired at the scout, but it was far away and the bullets flew harmlessly into the air. The scout escaped and flew toward the giant spaceship.

The dust cleared. Fox and Falco ran toward the others and saw many of them lying on the ground, their faces covered in dust and their arms clutching their heads for protection. Blood was trickling on the ground; someone had been hurt. That someone was, to everyone's dismay, Tiff.

"Oh my god," shrieked Peach, as she crawled over to Tiff's body, oblivious to her appearance and concerned only with Tiff's health. She held her arm and felt her pulse. "It's faint, but there."

"How could they attack a child?" Krystal muttered through clenched teeth as she searched for the wound. She found it, unfortunately, right above Tiff's lung. "She- she's not going to make it."

"Tiff!" Tuff shouted as he and Kirby pushed their way to Tiff. "Tiff, please speak to me!"

Tiff's eyes were closed and her breath was growing fainter. As Tuff grabbed her other arm, she gasped and weakly glanced at him. Much like the rest of her, her smile was faint and weak.

"Tuff, Kirby, h-" she coughed, blood sprouting at the corner of her mouth. "How are you?"

"Oh my-" Peach looked away, crying into Mario's shoulder. Mario himself looked horrified, as did the others.

"Tiff, you're going to be okay," said Tuff through tears. "You're hurt now, but soon you'll be better."

"Puyo, puyo!" Kirby agreed, also tearing up.

"Thanks, gu-" another cough, more blood. "-guys. While I'm getting better, go on an adventure and have fun. We might not be having fun for a while." On that train of thought, her heart stopped and her head fell to the side, lifeless. Tuff and Kirby held Tiff tightly as they cried, and the others respectfully got to their feet and turned away.

"It's my fault," Falco said, on his knees, facing the starship. "I let the guy go, and he killed her. I killed her."

"Look, Falco, we have to stay strong," whispered Krystal. "If we think hopelessly, then we'll never get to safety. They aren't prepared for war; their reactions show it. We can't let them fall victim to the same fate."

"We have to protect them, Falco," agreed Fox. "For Slippy and for Peppy."

Falco nodded, wiped a tear from his eye, and got to his feet. "Alright," he said and cleared his throat. "For Slippy and Peppy."

"We'll let them mourn, first," whispered Krystal.

Metaknight walked up to them. Although his mask prevented anyone from reading his face, his voice betrayed a notion of sorrow as he spoke. "That ship the soldier went to," he said, pointing at said ship. "What is it, and what does it do?"

"We have no idea," said Fox. "It appeared not an hour before you did, so we sent Slippy to find out. It took down Slippy, so it's an enemy."

"If I hadn't promised to protect you, I'd fly to the ship and tear it apart," said Falco, fists clenched.

The ship in question was a rectangular, metallic-grey structure that seemed to float on air, having no wings and no visible jets. It was nearly a mile wide and twice as long, and the gigantic cannon on top of the ship was its most prominent feature. Despite how far away the ship was, its cannon looked incredibly menacing.

"That's a large weapon," said Metaknight. "I don't think we've seen its true power."

As if to agree with Metaknight's thought, a bright blue light began shining at the tip of the ship's cannon. The cannon slowly rotated toward the surface of the planet, and its target was the tunnel connecting the Star Fox realm to the Dreamland realm.

* * *

Wario and Dry Bones had made a U-turn and traveled back to the tunnel they came from. Dry Bones' plan was to get to the Mushroom Kingdom.

"We get back to Waluigi and hide with him, find Bowser and join his ranks, or, if you prefer, get revenge on the soldiers who slaughtered everyone," he said as they were walking. "Either way we'll get revenge on someone."

Wario had said nothing, but he was regretting his decision to abandon the others. The army had already shown their strength and their numbers, and here Dry Bones was walking right into a place where they knew the army occupied. Who knew how many thousands of soldiers were waiting on the other side?

When they reached the tunnel entrance, they paused and discussed their plan. After they had agreed, Dry Bones summarized: "We go in as straight of a line as possible. If we have to wait days for reinforcements to stop flowing from the Mushroom Kingdom, then we'll wait those days. We take the first opportunity we have to get through that tunnel. If we get separated, go to Goomba Village and wait a day. If 24 hours have passed and the other doesn't show, leave him and get to Bowser's Castle."

With a deep breath and a passing of good luck, the pair cautiously traveled through the tunnel and into the Dreamland realm, ready to face any obstacle they may encounter.


	7. Chapter 6

Cautiously, carefully, slowly, Wario and Dry Bones crept through the tunnel. Its mysterious aura reminded them of the stupidity of their decision, and they could hear faint cries of help. Pleadings for an inevitable demise not to happen. They knew, somehow, that there was no help for whoever, or whatever, was in trouble. Their sense of urgency was replaced by a sense of futility. But they remained firm in their goal.

"I don't like this tunnel," whispered Wario, his grey friend looking much bluer than usual. He debated making a joke. "It wasn't like this before. Why now?"

"It's in danger, and it knows it," Dry Bones explained.

"It? The tunnel? That isn't possible. And how would you know?"

"I know because it's telling us. And it isn't possible, but it is. Some paradox, but frankly we've never exactly lived normally. Look at this talking pile of bones."

"I hate this tunnel." Wario pouted, somehow more depressed listening to his friend than the tunnel.

Which was soon coming to an end, as the growing bright, yellow light indicated. As they prepared to exit, resuming their cautious stance after the tunnel distracted them, they heard two last words: good luck. They exchanged confused looks and considered returning the gesture, but the sounds of gunfire told them to hurry. They entered the Dreamland realm, but they stayed in the by the entrance, surveying the land, searching for life. They saw none, so they ran to the nearest bush.

"They haven't reached the castle," said Wario, now relieved. "We can go there, loot some weapons, and get out. We'll have a fighting chance!"

"Too risky. Good plan, but we can't risk it. Soldiers may not surround the castle, but for what we know they could be sitting in that bird's chair toasting to an easy victory."

"Then what's your plan?" Wario asked, disgruntled. "We're going to leave ourselves unarmed and vulnerable?"

"Yes. We have to be stealthy, and making any sounds like the ones the soldiers' weapons make, the ones, if I must remind you, we heard from the tunnel, will invite everyone to our very special, one-in-a-lifetime death. We'll go as straight as possible to the other tunnel. No detours."

Wario surrendered and the pair began the frightening journey through Dreamland, past calm meadows and graceful trees, searching the magnificent castle intently and suspiciously before hurriedly traveling from foliage to stone to foliage again. After nearly an hour of this pattern, traveling in a wide arc around the village despite Dry Bones' instructions, hearing continuous screams and gunfire that only recently disappeared, the pair reached the hill housing the tunnel.

"They're still coming," Wario noted, watching the river of soldiers pouring our of the tunnel. Although hidden from view behind some bushes, he couldn't avoid apprehension. "They'll never stop. We're never going back."

"We're not turning back," said Dry Bones. "It's too late. We'll just have to wait."

In the distance, the soldiers congregated around the tunnel, standing absolutely still in formation, listening to a dark figure give orders.

"They aren't moving," whispered Wario. "They're never going to move."

"Stop being so negative, Wario, honestly! They aren't coming out of the tunnel, so that's one stroke of luck."

And then another stroke of luck: a large engine-like noise roared throughout the realm, mixed with a horrifying scream that eerily resembled the "good luck" voice. While shivers were sent down many soldiers' spines, Wario and Dry Bones shuddered violently, so much that Dry Bones literally fell apart at the seams.

"Put yourself back together, Dry Bones," said Wario urgently, glancing through the bushes. "They're going to investigate that noise. Now's our chance!"

"I wouldn't blame them," said Dry Bones, as he waited for his bones to reconnect. "That was the most terrifying scream I've ever heard. I… I don't think the tunnel made it."

They checked the area and saw no soldiers looking in their general direction. In the army's haste to investigate, it forgot to assign guards, leaving the tunnel open.

"Wait," said Wario, as they slid down the hill and into the tunnel. "Does that mean the tunnel's dead?"

"I'd think so."

"But, that means we won't be going back to the others."

"Yes. We're on our own, now."

* * *

"Why am I lucky?" Waluigi asked as Link motioned for him to follow.

"Because if my guards hadn't heard you muttering to yourself, you would've been slain on sight," answered Link. "They also said you had information, so I want you to explain to me everything you know while we travel." His faithful horse, Epona, had galloped up to them, and he climbed onto her and pulled Waluigi up with him. Link commanded Epona to run and she obeyed.

After Ganondorf's latest defeat, the realm had been at peace for many years. In that time, Link had been given a seat at Princess Zelda's side, and they effectively solved all of the realm's issues in an equal partnership. His many victories and friendships had given him incredible allies with all species, so when the call was sent out for help, thousands came. Now a strong, intelligent young man, Link listened intently to Waluigi's information while navigating Epona around the now-treacherous and deadly Hyrule Field. Waluigi finished explaining long before they reached the castle, so Link had plenty of time to process.

"It seems you are not the only lucky one, Waluigi," Link finally said. "This information could change the war entirely. You have done very well in your duty. I believe Master Hand will personally congratulate you on your achievement."

"Who is Master Hand?" asked Waluigi.

"I'll let him explain," said Link. "We're heading to Rebellion."

Waluigi nearly gasped; he had overheard Mario and Peach speak of the realm many times, and he knew it was a glorious haven, but he never thought he'd see it himself. Creatures from all of the other realms gathered daily to celebrate life. One of the most peaceful places in the universe.

"It's a shame its name is so contradictory," Waluigi whispered, continuing his thought.

"Hmm?" Link asked. "Rebellion? Well, there's a reason for that. I'm not allowed to tell you, but I feel Master Hand will be so excited he'll explain."

The castle was upon them, a giant structure that equaled Peach's Castle in size and mystery. Link, however, was not required to give a password to be admitted. The large iron gates creaked open as soon as Link was within sight. Epona passed without slowing down, blazing through Castle Town, causing civilians to dive aside, until they were inside the castle itself. Link jumped off the majestic horse and landed, diving to avoid injury, and ran at the same pace into the castle. Waluigi watched this incredible, fluid movement in awe as Epona stopped for him. He got off the horse and ran to catch up with Link.

He lost sight of Link immediately and was forced to wait at the entrance. Nearly an hour later, Link walked calmly down the steps, escorting the lovely delicate Princess Zelda. Zelda noticed Walugi and curtseyed, while Waluigi bowed in respect.

"Link explained the urgency of your meeting," said Zelda calmly and slowly. "He has also explained that I be sent with you."

"We should have done it months ago," admitted Link.

"But I wanted to oversee the plans for battle," Zelda continued, speaking more to Link than Waluigi. "However, the battle has begun, and I see no point in putting myself in danger anymore. So, Link will escort us to Rebellion, where we will be provided safety and you will explain to Master Hand."

Link unsheathed his sword. "Right, then, no time to waste. According to you, the Mushroom Kingdom is under attack. We have to reach Rebellion before we are flanked."

"Shouldn't you, uh, alert your troops?"

"I did that months ago, Waluigi," said Link. "Thank you for the concern, but I can assure you I am very prepared."

"Right, sorry."

Link got a nearby Hyrulian Soldier to come with them and ride a second horse, as Epona did not have the strength for the three of them, and they traveled through Hyrule Field. After several minutes of traveling, they stopped at the remains of the Great Deku Tree. Link sent Epona back to the castle and the quartet walked behind the tree to a bunch of bushes surrounding a hidden cave.

"This place brings back such memories," Link said nostalgically. "My first true battle with the spider Queen Gohma. One of many. I was such a naïve boy back then."

"We've gone through so much in a short time," said Zelda, holding Link's arm. "I don't want to have to leave you."

"Princess, I have to keep you safe. I have to protect this realm for as long as possible; I can't let the armies overrun us. I'm going to protect you, but to do that, I have to leave. For a little bit."

"Ma'am, permission to speak?" The soldier asked.

"Granted."

"I don't feel safe here. Can we enter the cave, please?"

Zelda glanced at Link. "Yes, yes, of course. Link, if you would be so kind as to show us this 'Rebellion'"

"Of course." Link walked into the cave, motioning for the others to follow. Several feet into the cave, they met a dead end.

"Wrong cave?" Waluigi asked. "I looked around and there were dozens."

"No, no, this is the right one. I'm just thinking of the password. "The army of the Rebellion will rise!"

The cave shook and the fake wall started descending until it had disappeared. In place of it was the other half of the tunnel, bathed in a blue aura. A low rumbling could be heard, and as the group grew closer to the exit the noise grew louder and louder. As they reached the light and entered the realm, they saw the source of the noise.

"Applause," said Waluigi in disbelief. "Hundreds of people applauding us."

"Welcome to Rebellion," said Link.

* * *

Still fuming, even hour after learning of the machine's destruction, the Commander signaled a new messenger to enter. His office, located in the direct middle of the Final Destination realm, was a large, clean, organized room. On one wall held a large, black chalk board with various diagrams and drawings pinned against the mesh. An entire wall consisted of one-way mirror that allowed him to see the entirety of his city without fear of assassination. Not that he had to. Anyone who knew he was a threat would know why he couldn't be killed, and those too stupid to remember would pay the price.

"I have fantastic news!" said the messenger. "The Mushroom Kingdom and Dreamland territories have fallen and are under our control. They crumbled easily beneath our forces, even with our scouts' failure."

"And the bad news?"

"How did you – right, well, the Legend of Zelda territory still holds strong, Fire Emblem is weak, but fighting, and Pokémon completely withheld our attack. All of our men were slaughtered."

"All ten thousand men?"

"Five thousand. It seems we underestimated their strength; there are powerful creatures in there."

"Any final news?"

"Secondary attacks are beginning on the following territories: Earthbound, Jungle Japes, Kid Icarus, and Metroid."

"Good. Leave."

"Yes, sir."

And with the slam of a door, the Commander began his monologue.

"According to the old plan, where I could make men without worry. Five thousand soldiers dead. Intelligence, or lack thereof, reported those creatures to be cute, harmless, and kid-friendly. Idiots. Five thousand… that makes eighty-five, not including casualties from the other three attacks. I have to get that machine rebuilt. _The Destroyer_ has to finish its mission by tomorrow. The armies have to take over the realms."

He sat on the edge of his desk, rubbing his visor. "Commanding an army is so stressful. It's much easier being on the front lines."

He faced the windows, staring at nothing and everything. "_The Destroyer_ should be done with Star Fox and its tunnels by now. Now it'll move to Jungle Japes, then Kid Icarus, then Earthbound. Four of those Realm Representatives exiled and out of my way. Tomorrow, the final attacks commence on the remaining realms. But I have to pull some of my men to focus on the Pokémon realm and stop it from stopping us."

He pulled down a map: an amateur drawing of Nintendo Realm, consisting of fourteen of its realms and the tunnels connecting them. He pointed at the Pokémon realm and the two that stood at its side. "The Jungle Japes and Earthbound realms will be destroyed by my ship, so my only dilemma will be to either guard it for all eternity or destroy it as soon as I can. The explosion will be immense, but it'll be worth it to stop any resistance."

And then he looked at the one empty space that remained. "And then there's that Rebellion realm. When I find out its location or take over the Legend of Zelda realm and search the whole place, I'll destroy it."

He looked at the Star Fox realm, which would soon be severed from the others, floating for all eternity in loneliness and desolation, alive but disconnected and useless. "One realm at a time."

* * *

"Is it preparing to fire at another ship?" Metaknight asked.

"It better not!" Falco nearly shouted. "I've lost too many allies already!"

"The cannon isn't maneuverable enough to hit a small, fast target like our Arwings," said Fox. "No, this shot's much more powerful. What killed Slippy might have been side guns or turrets. This is its real power."

The cannon stopped rotating, pointing at the base, but the brightness grew. "Well, it's aiming at us, Fox," said Falco. "Wanna sign my will? You get my Arwing, remember?"

"I'd have Slippy get an exact answer, but I don't think it's aiming at us," said Fox.

"Odd, because I sure as hell see that cannon's barrel."

"Fox is correct, Falco," said Krystal.

"Perfect. Then let's get out of here."

Mario walked over to them and pointed at the ship. "Can you please explain what that is? Is it a threat?"

"It'll explain itself soon, Mario," said Falco. "Should I get the scooters?"

"Yes, fourteen should do," Fox said, and Falco and Krystal left. "Mario, Metaknight, come with us. We'll need the extra help."

"Will we escape before the ship fires?" asked Metaknight.

Fox studied the ship and said calmly, "No, I don't believe so. We're at its mercy unless we aren't its target."

As the five entered the base for the final time, miles above Corneria, the scout entered _The Destroyer_. He would report armed animals in the base and request their immediate destruction, but he would be denied. The ship had its orders, and it was fulfilling them efficiently. After nearly ten minutes of gathering power, the ship fired its large energy into one concentrated blast. The bright, blue blast hurtled toward the surface, landing at the entrance to the Dreamland tunnel. The tunnel was hit with so much energy it collapsed in on itself, severing all connections between the two realms. Only searing hot clouds of steam and dust that led the charge of the blast's radius and the thunderous noise of the explosion reached the Dreamland realm before the tunnel's destruction. No causalities except for some trees which disintegrated immediately from the heat were felt on the Dreamland side.

On the Star Fox side, however, the blast radius reached many miles, and the dust even longer. Thankfully, the group was shielded by the giant base, whether inside or out, and while the shockwave and heat were felt and the noise heard, there were no injuries.

"That power," Metaknight mumbled, getting up from the floor and helping Krystal up. "Unbelievable."

"I thought these walls were heat proof," Falco stated, sweating. He checked a nearby machine. "Busted. Odd. EMPs don't cause heat. Was it a nuke?"

"I'd hate to say it, Falco, but I think it was more powerful," Fox said, shuddering at the thought.

Mario flinched and rubbed his chest. He looked around and noticed Metaknight and Krystal making similar motions. "I think something very bad happened." He used his hat to wipe sweat off his forehead. "Something unnatural. What were those words you used?"

"EMP disables electronics, like our air conditioning," said Falco as he grabbed his scooters. "Nuke blasts shit and causes EMP. If it's more powerful, that's awful for Corneria."

"Please don't swear like that," Krystal groaned. "We'll be escorting children."

"Sorry." The thought then occurred to them that the building may have protected them, but the others didn't have that luxury. Riding the scooters to travel as quickly as possible, they rushed down the maze of corridors and reached the entrance to see the others shaken and sweating, but unharmed.

"Peach," said Mario as they embraced. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mario, and are you?"

"Of course."

"Did you guys get a better view of what happened?" Fox asked.

"Giant blue ball was shot out of that ship up there," said King Dedede, pointing. "It hit the ground, caused a large sphere of light. Then we were hit with dust. Couldn't see a thing after that."

"Alright, I owe you twenty bucks," said Falco. "But it was really close. That giant mushroom cloud isn't more than a few miles away."

"I believe it hit the tunnel where we found you guys," said Fox. "I guess we got out just in time."

"Fox," muttered Luigi. "Mario. It's lighting up again."

And at his words, the group craned their necks to the sky and noticed that _The Destroyer_ was indeed preparing for another attack. Its cannon had shifted only a slight degree, but its target was the same: a tunnel. This one, however, would hit the tunnel connecting it to the Legend of Zelda realm. And the group's only escape route would be destroyed in less than ten minutes.


	8. Chapter 7

They had their own version of Hell, where Goombas and Koopas go when they try to kill, where tortured Kameks slave day in and day out, paying for their sins in the vain hope that they will be forgiven, where Bowser himself believed he would go one day and rule the land as if it was his own. Even the lowliest creature knew of the place and feared it, even if they didn't know it existed. Those who fell under Bowser's command were tortured, blackmailed, or willingly brought. Those who were under Bowser's command now ruled Hell, as Hell was now the Mushroom Kingdom.

The city was no more; the great towers of Peach's Castle had been destroyed with as much force as the smallest Toad house. Already, reconstruction was beginning. A large coliseum was the first addition, which was literally being flown in from Bowser's Castle and set irreligiously around the moat surrounding the castle's remains. The moat had been drained, and the structure was being dug out as per Bowser's orders.

Bowser himself supervised the construction, ignoring the surrounding village and concentrating his entire army on the castle. His goal had been realized; he had crushed the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Such a beautiful sight," Bowser sighed victoriously as the deafening sounds of metal machines filled the air. "I had almost given up hope when they locked me away. Now I've had my revenge, and now I have my kingdom.

"Sir," said one out of a group of Koopas which was carrying a bloody body. "We found another one, but this one looks familiar."

Bowser grabbed the body in one hand and glanced at it. He recognized the vest and the mustache and his eyes widened. "So, we got him. This, my dear brethren, is one of Princess Peach's advisors. A worthless toad who never worked an honest day's work in his life. Toadsworth, if I remember correctly, is this awful creature's name. I shall give him a proper burial." He then causually ripped Toadsworth's head off of his body and threw the body away.

The Koopas winced at the sound of flesh being torn from flesh and had to look away when Bowser took a spear from a nearby pile and stabbed Toadsworth's head through it.

"There we are," Bowser said, admiring his creation as if it was a beautiful painting. "Have you found anything similar to the Mario Brothers? It would make me so happy."

"No, sir, but we're looking," said the Koopa.

"Look harder, or you all will share the same fate as this toad," said Bowser, pointing at the threat and glaring.

"Yes, sir," said the group. "Right away, sir." And they hurried off before they were killed.

* * *

Not a mile away, Wario and Dry Bones entered the realm, relieved to find the tunnel unguarded but devastated when they saw the city.

"There's nothing left," whispered Wario.

"They did this in a few hours," said Dry Bones. "I'm awestruck. You remember the plan, right? First we find Waluigi, and then we find Bowser and join him."

"I thought we were going to kill soldiers," said Wario. "After all, they did this. They destroyed this Kingdom."

"Did you ever, at any point in your life, call this your home?" Dry Bones demanded.

"Yes."

"Oh… I was under the impression you lived in your castle with your gold."

"I got bored ages ago, so I got friendly, somewhat, with Mario and Luigi," said Wario. "Up until now, I lived in the castle and called it my home. I even hung out with some of the toads, believe it or not. They're dead now, most likely."

"So you want revenge. You aren't going to join Bowser?"

"Knowing Bowser, he's held up in his castle fighting off waves of those soldiers as we speak. I'll join him."

Dry Bones opened his mouth to speak, but he shut it and thought for many minutes. As the sounds of fire and the smells of smoke reached them, Dry Bones spoke in a near-whisper. "Can you trust me, Wario, to never do anything bad to you? To protect you and defend you until this is over?"

Wario stepped back, shocked. "What are you saying?"

"I want you to promise me you will trust me, no matter what I say."

"I-I-I promise."

"Then I'm going to tell you something. If this is too horrible for you to imagine, if you can't bear to look at me, then I'll give three options: you accept this has happened and stay with me. You go back to the others in whatever place they were in, or you go to Goomba Village, like I specifically mentioned earlier, and find a secret in some bushes."

Wario nodded.

"I am a traitor."

"No-" Wario began, but Dry Bones continued: "Bowser had been captured months ago, but I managed to sneak into his prison and give him information. I became his informant, and his sanity. Being locked in a cell like he was was unbearable, especially for a monster his size, so I became someone to talk to. He isn't much of a talker, believe me; I'd spend hours walking to his cell only to speak for a few minutes. But he trusted me. And when he was finally released, in preparation for this war, he told me what I should do: escape. Because the army was too great and too strong. He also told me to watch Mario, to get friendly with him and see where he goes when the army attacks. He told me as much as he knew about the realms and where to go to escape. And when I come back with the information I have, Mario will die. They all will die. Wherever this Rebellion is, they'll find it, and they'll murder him."

Wario had fallen, having stepped back so much. The news was unimaginable. He glanced to the tunnel and to the city, where the ruins of the castle mocked him for coming so far with a traitor.

"I can't believe it," Wario said. "We grew so close; you were my friend."

"And this is why I told you and why I gave you those choices."

"I can't stay. I have to find Waluigi."

"I know where Waluigi is, and you'll never find him. He isn't in the Mushroom Kingdom. He's either dead or in a place you'll never see."

"Don't say that," said Wario, cupping his ears. "I can't believe that. I have to leave."

"Then I recommend Goomba Village. I'll give you an hour before I go back to Bowser. By then, you better have found that tunnel. I'm sorry you can't understand, and I'm sorry you're going to die. You'll be on the losing side, Wario. Is the Mushroom Kingdom not example enough?"

"I can't be with you. I have to leave." Wario got to his feet and ran.

"I hope we see each other again," Dry Bones called. "By then, you may have gotten some sense!"

Wario ran longer than he had before, around the outskirts of the Mushroom Kingdom, nonstop in an effort to get away from Dry Bones as fast as possible. It was true; he knew it. He couldn't believe he trusted that miserable pile of bones; they had gotten along so well, but he was apparently a fantastic actor, because he fell for it. Now he had no chance of reuniting with Mario, and he was alone in this awful world. The Kingdom, the most powerful fortress in the world, had fallen with ease. The soldiers were going to win. All he could do was run. He couldn't fight.

As he ran, he got a great view of the ruins of the castle and the replacement coliseum. He got amazing scents of the burning wood and bodies that blew from Toad Town. He didn't know what would happen to the Kingdom, but he couldn't stay to watch it demolished.

He reached Goomba Village without getting caught and with plenty of the hour to spare. He collapsed on one of the fences and rested as much as he would dare. Nobody disturbed him or, in fact, was in the village at all. Everyone had evacuated at the sight of the Kingdom in flames.

He heard marching in the distance, which alerted him and forced him to his feet. He searched the surrounding area frantically for the hidden tunnel, but spotted nothing. He went into each of the houses in turn, and then left for nearby fields. Only after several minutes of searching did he see the tunnel, concealed behind a pile of branches and a large tree.

After taking another short rest when he knew he was concealed, he began the lonely journey down the tunnel. The blue aura made his thoughts blur together, but it gave him the strength to live past this betrayal. He hated himself for not seeing through his ruse, but Dry Bones was too good of an actor, and he played his part wonderfully. And now Wario was going to a place he had never been before, alone, without any comfort.

"I'm back to where I started," he mumbled, longing to take a nice chunk out of a clove of garlic. He reached the end of the tunnel and was met with a sharp sword slashing into the rock an inch to his left.

"You aren't a soldier," the swordsman stated, eyeing Wario suspiciously. "Who are you?

"I'm Wario and I came here because my, uh, home was attacked and my best friend betrayed me," Wario said nervously. He could sense the man was an expert in determining lies, so he was as honest as possible without being too revealing.

"I believe you," said the man. He shook his hand. "You'll be among friends soon. My name is Prince Peasley, and welcome to the Beanbean Kingdom."

* * *

Waluigi was only slightly accurate, as the amount of humans applauding them was fairly small. Most of the creatures were Pokémon, Toads, Goombas, Gorons, Hyrulians, and various other creatures from across the realms. They stood around the entrance in a wide arc, on various roofs and streets in a large but primitive city.

A young Pichu waddled up to them and shook their hands in turn. It swung its arm over its head and scampered away.

"We're following him," interpreted Link. He turned to the guard. "You are relieved of your duty. You may relax in the village until we need you again."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Yes."

"Then I will do as you ask. Thank you!" The guard walked away.

The trio followed the Pichu out of the village and down a gravel road. A stone path diverged from the road and the Pichu scampered down that. The path led to a clearing in a bright forest with twelve stumps surrounding a large table-like stone.

"This place is beautiful," Zelda whispered excitedly.

"I'm glad you think so," said a deep, mysterious voice from nowhere. They looked around for the source while it continued: "Link, I am glad to see you here safely. The attack has begun, has it not?"

"It has, Master Hand, in my realm and the Mushroom Kingdom," Link pointed at Waluigi. "We have some news for you."

"And I for you. I'm afraid you won't be returning to lead your army, Link. You'll be going on a mission with a few allies who, I believe, will help you greatly."

It pained him to abandon his troops, but he didn't voice it. "Understood. Who are my allies?"

"You'll find out in less than an hour. Pichu!" Pichu's ears perked up. "Go to the city and retrieve our new arrivals. Bring them back here." Pichu nodded and it ran off.

"Should I, uh, explain?" Waluigi asked, still searching for the invisible voice.

"Many things will be explained in due time, Waluigi. But first we need to wait."

"People are dying as we speak and you want us to wait?" Waluigi nearly shouted.

"Yes," replied the calm voice.

Link placed a hand on Waluigi's shoulder. "Master Hand always explains less than he knows. And he does what's right for this world. Don't get mad."

"I hate when people do that," Waluigi muttered.

* * *

"Yeah, okay, we're done," said Falco hurriedly as he pushed his hovering scooters away for someone to grab. "Let's go, now. Where's that tunnel?"

"We still may not be in danger at the base, Falco," reasoned Fox. "It'll protect us. There's no need to rush."

"I think there is," said Metaknight as he mentally estimated the intended target. "The cannon is going to attack the tunnel to the Legend of Zelda realm. We won't have an escape route if its destroyed."

"Good enough for me," said Falco as he pulled Metaknight onto his. "Point the way. We have less than ten minutes." They hovered away.

"Tunnels can get destroyed?" Mario wondered. "That's impossible."

Fox sighed. "We'd better not lose them. Get on a scooter and follow them."

"W-we're not g-going to leave her, are we?" Tuff sniffed, still kneeling by Tiff.

"Of course not," said Krystal sympathetically as she pulled Toad onto her scooter. She looked at King Dedede. "Would you mind?"

"I, uh, guess not." He gingerly picked up Tiff and held her in his arms. "Poor kid."

"Th-thank you," Tuff said as he and Kirby got onto their scooter. "Puyo." They drove off.

As they traveled through the realm, they were forced to take a shortcut through a forest. They carefully maneuvered through the increasingly thickening rocks and trees. Then the last person in line crashed. Birdo hit the edge of a rock and silently rolled down a hill. She hit her head on anther rock and was knocked unconscious.

Oblivious, the remaining group reached the tunnel shortly after exiting the forest. Falco was impatiently pacing the entrance.

"Took you all long enough," He grumbled. "Let's go. Now. We've wasted far too much time."

"Relax, Falco, we have plenty of time," said Yoshi, patting him on his shoulder. He did a quick headcount. "Has anyone seen Birdo?"

"She was behind us, wasn't she?" Luigi wondered, looking around.

Yoshi stepped into the tunnel to look for Birdo and saw a flash of pink around the corner. "Oh, she's running ahead of us! Come on!" He ran after the pink and the others struggled to keep his pace. Only the athletic trio of animals was able to match Yoshi's speed as he sprinted down the tunnel. His panic was rising much higher than it should have, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.

Yoshi burst out of the tunnel and was immediately surrounded by dozens of spears. He held his hands above him in surrender and searched the surroundings for his love. He grew increasingly anxious the longer he went without sight. As the others filed out of the tunnel, they were instructed to join their friend. They stood in a circle with a few dozen creatures surrounding them, making sure to keep the women and children in the center. More and more of these bulky reptilian Lizalfos came into view, all ferocious and carrying large weapons.

"Why haven't they killed us?" Falco muttered.

"Because they saw Yoshi first," said Fox slowly and carefully. "And he looks like them."

"Don't insult Yoshi like that," said Falco mockingly. "He doesn't deserve it."

A nearby Lizalfo accidentally stabbed Falco in the leg, causing him to shriek in pain. Fox could see one running into the distance.

"They aren't going to kill us," said Fox to reassure the others. "They're sending a scout to send for someone important to okay us."

"And if they don't?" Hammer Bro asked nervously.

"We die."

* * *

Not a few minutes after the group was captured, in the Star Fox realm _The Destroyer _had finished its second charge. It fired at the Legend of Zelda tunnel, proving Metaknight's statement to be true. The tunnel met a similar fate as its brother, only this one had nobody to wish luck. The tunnel in its last minutes of life created an illusion of a loved one, as it knew there would be more lives lost should this loved one be found missing. It was a cruel trick, but it saved the lives of Yoshi, along with others who would have searched with him. The loved one was sleeping peacefully when her doom came, blissfully unaware of the cruel fate her body had received as it was ripped apart by the force of the energy.

The group, meanwhile, had moved away from the tunnel before it collapsed. The steam that shot out burned a few unlucky Lizalfos to a crisp before the sounds of crumbling rock and explosions sent the remaining scattering. The group took this chance to break free of their prison and punched, kicked, and bit anyone who stood in their way. Fox and Falco led the charge through the Lizalfo camp stationed as guard outside the tunnel. Throughout the panic and attack, there were no non-Lizalfo causalities, although it would take hours before the camp organized. By then, the group had gone. They had sprinted as fast as they could in the direction of the Rebellion tunnel.

* * *

An hour later the group found the tunnel's entrance. They encountered no opposition along the way, which they took as a bad sign and were extremely cautious as they searched. Preparing for an ambush, they entered the final tunnel.

"We're finally here," whispered Peach. "Oh, Mario, we're finally safe!"

"Yes, Princess, just through this tunnel and we'll be able to relax," said Mario.

Yoshi walked with his head down in a noticeable silence. Luigi pressed a hand onto his friend's shoulder. "Yoshi, I'm so sorry. I'm sure she's alright."

"I don't know, Luigi," Yoshi muttered. "I wish I could believe you. I think that damn ship with those damn soldiers blew her up along with the tunnel. Even if she survived, we aren't going to find her."

"She's strong, she'll survive," assured Luigi.

"Who?" Falco asked.

"Birdo," said Yoshi, narrowing his eyes and clenching his fist.

"Who?"

A moment of silence. "Birdo."

"I don't know who that is, Yoshi. Was she that pink thing who never spoke?"

Another. "Someone give me their gun. I want to shoot a blue bastard who should shut his mouth before I blow it off!"

"You really think you could beat me in a shootout? Don't make me laugh. We'd attract attention."

"Stop fighting!" Fox shouted. "We're at Rebellion. Let's just get there before we start to kill each other."

"Agreed," said Hammer Bro. "I want answers, and I don't think we'll get them if we commit murder right outside this peaceful place."

Yoshi and Falco dropped their glares and walked onward. Several feet later, they came upon the fake-wall.

"Well, we're stuck," said Yoshi bitterly. "Any ideas?"

"The army of the Rebellion will rise!" Mario shouted. The tunnel opened for the second time that hour, and with it they were shrouded with the blue aura and the rumblings of applause. They walked into the realm and saw the various creatures shouting, clapping, and pointing.

"I could get used to this," Hammer Bro muttered.

"Warm welcome," said Luigi. "I love this place already!"

Mario grinned at his brother. "We'll be here a long time, Luigi, so you should get used to it. Now, let's find Master Hand."


	9. Chapter 8

Mario and his friends stepped out of the tunnel entrance and into the mob of creatures, each one patting them on the back and congratulating them on their accomplishment. A few toads bowed to Peach and Daisy and surrounded them as they walked. The rumble of the applause was replaced with the profusion of speech. Nothing was intelligible, and the streets were crowded so that nobody could escape.

"I'm getting annoyed," Falco shouted as he was bumped aside for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Please, everyone, make a path," Mario shouted, but his futile cries were unheard.

Their saving grace was the messenger Pichu Master Hand sent earlier, as it entered the city with a powerful Thunder, which sent many people scattering and screaming in fear. The group took this opportunity to sprint away, as quickly as possible, and exit the village.

"That was too much," said Yoshi. "I enjoyed the attention, but that was way too much."

"That's the largest city in this realm, so anywhere else you want to live will be much more peaceful," said Mario as Pichu scampered ahead. "Thank you, young creature. You might have saved lives."

Pichu led them to the clearing where Master Hand was waiting. There, sitting at the table, were Link, Zelda, and Waluigi.

"Waluigi," said Mario in disbelief. "You're alive!"

"You made it, Mario, absolutely wonderful!" Waluigi said, relieved, as they shook hands. He looked at the group. "Did, uh, Wario come with you?"

"Yeah, uh, he did," said Luigi. "He left."

"Left? Why would he leave?"

"Not sure, but he left with Dry Bones. We don't know where he went."

Waluigi looked at the ground. "So he's still alive. They probably went to the Mushroom Kingdom. Probably."

Link nodded at Mario. "It's good to see you again, Mario."

Mario nodded back. "I'm glad you're here."

"Oh my god!" Luigi shouted, pointing at Master Hand, who he just noticed floating above them.

The giant hand emitted a deep chuckle. "It's good to see you all made it safely."

"Not all of us," Yoshi muttered darkly. "We lost a few along the way." He pointed at Tiff.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. What a poor child."

"C-can you bring her back?" Tuff asked hopefully.

"Even my power isn't that great," said Master Hand. "I will, however, give her a proper burial." With a wave of himself, a plot of land dug itself out of the ground and an engraved tombstone flew from the sky to the head of the plot. King Dedede carefully placed Tiff into the grave, which filled itself immediately.

They shared a moment of silence, broken only by the occasional sniff. "I hate when the young die young. It is so unnecessary, so awful. But at least she will never be tainted by the awful events that will come to pass."

Many people looked at him in confusion and horror. "I do believe you would want an explanation," he said.

"Of everything," Falco stated.

"I can't tell you everything, as I don't know everything. But I am going to assign you a mission soon, Realm Representatives, so you should know why I'm going to send you away."

"What?" Peach gasped. "But we just got here!"

"Which is exactly why it's so hard for me to send you away. You worked hard to get here and you're going to work even harder. So I have to explain. Please sit down."

They sat down at various places around the table, all eagerly awaiting knowledge they had been pining for throughout their misery.

"The only way, I feel, to begin is with the beginning:

"Nintendo World was created less than a decade ago, when our Creators had finally grown so large others were stealing their ideas. Our lives before then, as you may remember, were peaceful and we were oblivious to our fellow Nintendians. We were watched over and cared for, so long as we listened to and enacted our Creator's ideas. We had minimal protection, as ours was such a small and unimportant world.

"With the capture of a small yet vital robot, ROB, our Creators realized there were threats that were more powerful than the protection we were provided. As ROB was dissected and analyzed by unknown enemies, his sacrifice propelled our Creators to create our World, named after themselves, of course. Unfortunately, only their most important creations were given this prestigious protection. Everything deemed of lesser importance maintained the old protection, casted aside so that we may flourish."

"That's awful," Peach muttered.

"It was for the greater good," Master Hand recited. "Or so I was told. But there was a problem: we were in this large bubble, but if one of us was invaded, it was helpless. So the tunnels were created to connect our lands, or realms as they were called, together, so that in time of turmoil we could send aid. But even that wasn't enough. The Final Destination realm was created in order to house Nintendo's army. But that wasn't enough. Rebellion was created. That wasn't enough. Realm Representatives were assigned. That wasn't enough. Nintendo World was breached. And here you are."

A stunned moment of silence. Luigi raised his hand. "Are we able to ask questions?"

"Yes, but my answers may or may not be specific."

Several hands rose. Master Hand pointed at Luigi. "What are Realm Representatives?"

"Realm Representatives are the final line of defense against any attack. They are single persons who are given control of the fate of their realms, and there is one per realm. Five of them sit with us today: Mario, Link, Metaknight, Krystal, and me. Ten others are missing, and it is imperative that we find them."

"Is that the mission you were talking about?" Fox asked.

"Later, later, after questions. Anymore?"

"Why are we under attack if we were given so much protection?" Fox asked.

"This is my fault." He paused, but before anyone could express his or her shock, Master Hand quickly continued. "One year ago, I sent out a message to all Realm Representatives to tell them to travel to Rebellion, as I felt there was a powerful presence nearby that could threaten us; we needed a plan of defense and a place of refuge. That attack turned out to be a false alarm, but it turns out we were missing one person. I had thought my brother, Crazy Hand, was the Realm Representative of Final Destination. I was wrong; it turns out there was another man chosen, a man who did not belong to this world. No doubt that man knew where my message came from. So he followed it."

"Who is that man?" Luigi asked.

"Look at the table, at the engravings. I only saw the names after it was too late, after I had announced my fears."

The group carefully searched the large table for names. They saw many familiar names, including the ones in Rebellion right now, but one name stood out.

"Who is Master Chief?" Yoshi asked. "He sounds like your third brother."

"I have never seen that man in my life, Yoshi, and I know you are trying to lighten the mood, but currently that man is leading the attack on this world."

"Wait… what?"

"Not a month after I sent the message, I was told there was a breach in the protection; something had gotten through, something had broken our barriers. It landed in the Final Destination realm. Scouts found an empty cryogenic chamber at the bottom of a large crater. No sign of life otherwise, but nevertheless my brother sent scout after scout searching the realm. We never found him.

"We decided that we couldn't take any more chances, so we ordered our troops to take down powerful enemies that could ally themselves with this mysterious infiltrator. We sent fifty men to tranquilize, contain, and transport to specially-made prisons. Ten of these villains were captures successfully, although at the loss of over forty of these men. Naturally, they were remade and their losses forgotten, but there was one person who showed incredible skills, far beyond what the soldiers were programmed, and he was promoted accordingly, with no doubts as to his origin.

"Six months after these missions, my brother was killed. We had no idea about this infiltrator, other than his name and his description; he was ruthless and changed everything about the Final Destination realm. He released our captured prisoners and made them 'Supreme Generals', he ordered men into squadrons and set into motion the plans for attack. Two days later, he was killed and the exceptional soldier took his place. That man continued the other infiltrator's plans. That man was Master Chief."

"Who killed your brother?" Peach gasped.

"You have heard of him before; he was invited here a few years ago for a special tournament. This may come as a surprise, but it was Sonic the Hedgehog."

"I remember him," said Fox. "He and I got along; he got along with everyone. He was a nice guy. You said he was ruthless?"

"According to some of the last scouts who escaped, he killed soldiers just for not calling him 'sir'; he held a public execution, threatened to hold more, until he was stopped. There were rumors of a revolution that was going to take place until Master Chief assassinated him. Master Chief challenged him to a duel, and Sonic, being cocky, accepted. Master Chief quickly subdued him and stuffed a grenade in his mouth. After the explosion, Sonic disappeared, and Master Chief took his place as Commander of the armies. He had gotten along with many soldiers, helped conspire against Sonic, and was accepted graciously, but he was feared, showing on many occasions he was one of the strongest men. So they accepted his rule with no arguments, and anyone foolish enough to conspire was quickly and brutally shot."

"Shot down?" Falco added.

"Shot."

"I see. So about those soldiers. You seemed pretty nonchalant about losing forty men, and you said 'programmed'. Why?"

"Our creators decided that the best way to control massive armies is to have them preprogrammed to obey the current commander of the armies. At the time, it was my brother, and although Sonic took his place, he didn't follow the rules. Master Chief knew of these rules, obeyed them, and maintained control. The reason I keep using 'programmed' is because these men are manufactured through a machine that produces them at a consistent rate. They aren't real men, no matter their appearances or personalities; they're essentially robots."

Master Hand pointed at Waluigi. "I do believe you have a report, Waluigi, regarding this machine."

Waluigi nearly gasped, having forgotten what he was to say. He glanced nervously at everyone staring at him, cleared his throat, and reported, "I was sent a few weeks ago into the Final Destination realm as a scout, but I had a secondary, uh, mission. I snatched a few explosives, went to that machine Master Hand was talking about, and blew it up. It's gone; it won't create anymore soldiers."

"A wise decision, given the circumstances," Master Hand noted. "Well done, Waluigi, you've given us a great advantage."

"How?" King Dedede asked.

"Master Chief had recently, I believe, increased the machine's production rate, so that he'd have a larger army quicker. With it gone, his numbers are no longer infinite; he has a large number to work with, but if he uses them poorly, he'll have no army."

"With the way he threw us at the Legend of Zelda realm, I'd say he doesn't realize his machine's gone," said Waluigi. "There were thousands of us, and we had no idea what to do."

"Us?" Mario repeated. "What happened to you?"

Waluigi looked at Master Hand, who gave no indication of noticing. "Uh, well, when we were separated, I was punished by being sent to the front lines of the most difficult realm to conquer. Suicide, essentially."

"Obviously you have proven to be an exceptional fighter to survive," said Master Hand.

"No, just lucky."

"Continuing the Q&A, why can't our Creators help us now?" Falco asked with a hint of bitterness.

"I can't answer, Falco. They might not be able to help, or they might not care anymore. In any case, we can't allow ourselves to wait for the vain hope of rescue; we have to regroup in Rebellion."

"This might be a stupid question, but what is Rebellion?" Yoshi asked. "It's where we are now, right, but what is 'here'?"

"In order to balance the power of the Final Destination's armies, there had to be a fallback, a safe haven in the slim chance that corruptness commands them. Obviously our Creators did not trust my brother, but their distrust has saved us, for the time being. Very few people know about Rebellion's existence, and even fewer know its location. Even Master Chief doesn't know its whereabouts.

"Rebellion is our haven, our safety from destruction, no matter what that destruction be. We, as you saw earlier, have brought creatures from across all realms to ensure the survival of as many races as possible. Rebellion, as its name entails, holds enough supplies to sustain the entirety of the fifteen realms for years, as well as stop any sort of attack that dares threaten it. The initial plan, I assume, was to bring as many survivors as possible when my brother declares an attack on any realm, and when he had thought he had won, we would strike with all of our might and overpower and destroy him. Same plan, but different enemy has been the reality.

"This brings me to your mission: I am sorry to say that you cannot rest for too long here, despite your bravery and courage. You have most certainly earned relaxation and a great feast, but that will come later. I need you to go to each of the other realms and recruit each of their Realm Representatives."

"You can't be serious," said King Dedede, looking at the pink-eyed Tuff. "You're going to send children-"

"I apologize, King Dedede, I should have clarified. This mission is for the five Realm Representatives that stand with you. Anyone else will be able to rest and know that he or she is safe."

Luigi glanced at Mario, horrified. "You aren't going so soon."

Mario dropped his gaze. "I'm sorry, Luigi. I couldn't have told you; I knew this would happen, but I couldn't worry you."

"I'm going with you."

"No. I can't let anything happen to you."

"I'm going with you."

"No-"

"Yes, I am!" Luigi shouted. "I love you, brother; I can't let you go alone. I know you're strong, I know you're brave, but I'll… I'll be damned if I let you go against that army without me."

"If anything happens to you-"

"Mario, please, nothing will happen to us except a successful return." Luigi placed his hand gently on his brother's shoulder. "You sound like Daisy."

Daisy glanced at the ground, but returned Luigi's confident grin. Master Hand waited for a few seconds before continuing, "I shall give you an hour to say your goodbyes. Anyone willing to join is allowed to, but I must stress that this will be dangerous; you'll be fighting through no less than two realms that are under attack, more if the armies have spread quickly enough. Your lives are at risk. If you do choose to go, these goodbyes may be your last. Make them count. I'll meet you at the tunnel's entrance." Master Hand floated into the sky and the group parted.

* * *

"So that was some serious shit," Falco muttered. He looked at Krystal. "I can't believe you're forced to go through more."

"No rest for the weary," Krystal replied. "I don't suppose either of you will want to stay behind."

"Absolutely not," Fox said.

"We have a score to settle," Falco added.

"And," Fox stressed, staring at Falco forcefully. "We have allies to protect. Link, Mario, and King Dedede can handle themselves, but it's the people like Kirby or Tuff who we need to watch over."

"So noble," Falco said, grinning. "No wonder you have someone pining for you."

Slightly blushing, Fox continued, "We have an hour, so Krystal, you need to repeat everything you've told us about any of these realms. We're not leaving this realm unprepared."

"Absolutely not," Falco said.

Fox and Krystal exchanged glances before the latter began her speech.

* * *

The Dreamland quartet lay on separate sides of a large oak tree, staring at the serene landscape. They watched the passing creatures in silence, thinking about the information they had received and the upcoming mission. Tuff grabbed a handful of dirt and squeezed it as hard as he could.

"What do you think, Metaknight?" King Dedede asked. "You think that mission you're going on is worth it?"

"It's worth all the time and effort I can afford to give," replied Metaknight. "It's one of the most important missions I can be given. Only slightly more important is the murder of Master Chief, but I'm afraid we can't wish for everything."

Slightly taken aback, King Dedede continued, "I reckon I should go with you. You'll need the support."

"I appreciate it, but you all have seen far too much destruction for many lifetimes. You can stay here."

"I can, but I ain't. I may not like those villagers back in Dreamland, but damn it! They were my people! I care as much as anyone does for them, and I want revenge just as badly as you!"

"Revenge is not the path to follow," Metaknight said calmly. "I spoke out of character; please forgive me, as I gave you the wrong idea. You don't have to-"

King Dedede stood up and walked the long way to Metaknight. "Listen, buddy, I respect you, but I'm not going to sit by while you waltz out to fulfill some stupid quest and leave me in the dust. No, sir! I'm going with you!"

Kirby jumped to his feet. "Puyo, Puyo!"

"Two against one," King Dedede grinned victoriously.

"Three against one." Tuff said, also getting to his feet.

"No." King Dedede, Metaknight, and Kirby in his language said simultaneously.

"Absolutely not, and I'll break your legs if you argue," King Dedede said with finality. As he spoke, he walked over until he was directly over Tuff. "You'll relax here and you'll like it. I don't care what you have to say, I don't care what personal grudge you have against Master Chief or whoever, I don't care how strong you think you are. You. Are. Not. Leaving. Rebellion. Is that clear?"

Tuff glanced weakly to Metaknight. "Do you-"

"I will not break your legs. I'd tie you up and leave you with Master Hand. It is a much more sensible idea. I will not defend you; I fully agree with King Dedede."

"But, Kirby-"

"Kirby has defeated us both on multiple occasions, if you dare to compare his strength to yours. You are a child, and while you are strong, you are naïve."

"But, Tiff-"

"Revenge is not the path to follow," Metaknight concluded. "Never let it cloud your judgment, or you'll, as I have proven, say or do things you will regret."

"Puyo," Kirby shrugged apologetically. He hugged Tuff as King Dedede patted him on the back.

"I don't have a grudge against you, kid, and I feel awful for Tiff's death," King Dedede said sympathetically. "You're just too young. Just sit tight and wait for our glorious return, alright." He turned to Metaknight. "Alright?"

"Yes, our return. All three of us."

"We'll bring you some cake, if Kirby doesn't eat it all first," King Dedede said as the trio walked down the hill, leaving Tuff to his thoughts.

* * *

Those from the Mushroom Kingdom found a small hut to speak privately. After they had mourned the losses of the many who died as well as share stories, they discussed the mission.

Toad sat gingerly on a comfortable cot, resting his elevated leg on a stack of pillows. "I wish I could come with you guys."

Yoshi, Waluigi, and Hammer Bro had agreed to join Mario and Luigi on their mission. "You have an injured leg," said Waluigi. "You'll be safer here."

"Look at the bright side: you're the new Head Guard," said Yoshi. "You're the last toad protecting Peach; you have a very important mission."

"Oh, right," Toad's face lit up. "I forgot about that! Don't worry, friends, you can count on me!"

"That's the spirit," said Hammer Bro. "Get better as soon as possible, so you can help us when we do take down Master Chief."

"You seem uncharacteristically optimistic," Yoshi noted.

"As do you," Hammer Bro countered.

"Well, I have a chance to get back at those bastards who killed my woman," said Yoshi, clenching his fist. "I'm glad I have this chance, and I'm doing it as soon as possible. These soldiers will wish they'd never messed with me."

"I still can't believe you lost so many friends getting here," said Waluigi softly. "All of us have lost a partner."

"In such a short time, too," said Toad.

"Yeah, this attack began, what, this morning?" Hammer Bro said. "Our home's under attack, our friends are dead, and we've seen things we've never dreamed of."

"This place seems great," said Yoshi. "I have no doubt that if a rebellion was to happen, this place would have no trouble destroying the army. We just have to finish this mission and get home safely, and we'll be home free."

"Speaking of the mission, I remember Jungle Japes being one of the realms," said Waluigi. "We'll be able to meet Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong."

"I love the guy!" Yoshi exclaimed. "He'll kill more soldiers with his bare hands than Master Chief has in his whole army!"

* * *

In a separate room, the two couples exchanged their goodbyes in secret. "I'm going to miss you, Mario," Peach whispered as the two embraced.

"As I you."

She kissed him longingly and passionately. "I'll pray for you every day. I'll wish upon all the stars for your safe return."

"Thank you, princess," Mario said. "We'll wish together. And I will return."

"Of course you will, but I'll still worry."

Likewise, Luigi and Daisy were exchanging their goodbyes.

"You're such a brave man," Daisy said proudly. "The man I love and the man I married. I couldn't be happier."

"And you're a strong woman," said Luigi. They embraced as well, caressing each other and whispering wishes into each other's ears.

"I have a secret I want you to know before you leave," Daisy whispered barely audibly.

* * *

The quintet left the house after exchanging final farewells, Luigi with a large grin on his face. Toad, leaning on Peach's knee, shouted, "Kick some ass for me!" and chuckled after Peach gently slapped the back of his head.

"I hope they'll be all right," Daisy muttered behind a fake smile.

"As do I," Peach said, tears filling in her eyes as she waved.

* * *

At the tunnel entrance, those twelve who volunteered for the mission stood in a line, chatting and discussing final plans. At exactly one hour after he floated away from the clearing, Master Hand appeared above the tunnel. The city, only now lighting the lanterns that guarded the streets, was quiet and seemingly empty. At Master Hand's appearance, the others silenced and awaited final orders.

"Your mission is simply: retrieve nine of the Realm Representatives and bring them here. You may also bring anyone who is willing, but I stress the fact that this should be a stealth mission. If you make your presence known, Master Chief may send all of his forces to stop you; he knows the secrets of our power, and our weaknesses, and he'll exploit them in order to win. Keep your numbers small, to lessen your chances of being seen and killed. Are there any final words?"

"Are we going to Pikmin or Mushroom Kingdom first?" Link asked.

"That is up to you."

"Mushroom Kingdom," said Yoshi. "I want to know if there's a chance to save it."

"Mushroom Kingdom it is," said Link, nodding.

Falco raised his hand. "These 'Supreme General' guys. You said they were released after Sonic came into power. Where are they, and are we going to come across them?"

"I am not sure where they are, but knowing their power, it is likely that Master Chief has them leading his armies. If there are other realms under attack, you may face them. So take heed: those foes are powerful, deadly, and monstrous; there is a reason why my brother had them captured in the first place, and why they killed so many men before they were brought down. Avoid fighting them if possible.

"I wish you the best of luck. When you succeed, you will bring about our greatest hope of winning this war."

With that, Master Hand floated up and the twelve sprinted into the tunnel and into the Legend of Zelda realm.


	10. Chapter 9

The group exited the tunnel, pausing only briefly to search for any spies, and then followed Link to their destination. They traveled through the calm and beautiful forests and within a few minutes reached the rocky and treacherous mountains. They sprinted through this journey, admiring no beauty and witnessing no majesty. Their minds set on the task, their bodies racing to complete it quickly, their adrenaline pumping to ensure that they waste no time and are stopped by nobody, they ran toward the center of the mountain, where Gorons were stationed as guards.

"We must stop for a brief moment," said Link, his previous adventures having built his body to withstand such strain without tiring. "I have to explain." He walked off to one of the gigantic bulky, creatures that guarded the tunnel.

King Dedede, hunched over and panting, complained, "How are you guys so athletic? We just ran a few miles and you aren't even breaking a sweat!"

"Years of training, King Dedede," said Fox calmly. "I could run hours and not tire."

"I can tell this was a mistake," King Dedede grumbled. "If we're going to have to do this all the time, I'll never keep up."

Hammer Bro was also sweating. "I'll wait for you." He grinned. "Not like I have a choice."

"We aren't leaving anyone behind," said Krystal. "We can't afford to. After all, we all know where Rebellion is; we can't let anyone get captured by the enemy."

"I can only imagine what they'd do to us," said Yoshi.

"With an army as large as that, and Rebellion as weak as it is, we'd lose if we told," said Waluigi. "So Krystal's right: we need to stick together."

Link walked back to them. "They know we're leaving and they know who to let in. Are we finished resting?"

"That was a half-minute rest!" King Dedede grumbled. "I can't sprint for much longer."

"We won't be sprinting," said Mario. "We're entering an unfamiliar realm; we don't know what we'll see, so we have to be cautious."

"Oh, that's good," King Dedede said, relieved. Then he really understood Mario. "But we're entering your realm."

Mario looked at Luigi, Yoshi, Hammer Bro, and Waluigi in turn. "It isn't our realm anymore." He walked ahead, keeping his right hand in his overalls pocket, where the pistol remained hidden from all.

They passed by the Gorons who stood like statues, watching them silently without emotion, and entered the tunnel. The familiar blue aura heightened their senses, allowing them to take in their surroundings and prepare themselves for the upcoming destruction. As they reached the end of the tunnel, they heard a faint whisper of luck, one that they'd never heard before. As they searched for the source of the mysterious noise, a loud explosion brought them to reality.

They exited the tunnel cautiously and witnessed the complete destruction of the Mushroom Kingdom. Black smoke billowed up in geysers, spewing from the fires that engulfed the wreckages of toad houses. The entire town had been blown to rubble; even the majestic Castle that once towered over the village lay to ruins, and in its place was makeshift coliseum that only reached the tops of the nearest houses. In the sky was the distant figure of Bowser's flying castle, ready to make its new home on the demolished town.

"How… how could they?" Luigi whimpered, his eyes tearing up and his mouth quivering. "They destroyed it. All of it."

Mario grabbed his brother's shoulder. "Don't think too much about it, Luigi. We'll get it back soon." He looked at Fox. "What now?"

"This place looks occupied by the enemy," said Fox. "I suggest we go around."

"That's the plan-" but before Mario could continue, a familiar figure ran up to them.

"Mario, Hammer Bro, you're okay! You made it!" Dry Bones shouted with glee. "I was so worried. And-" he noticed the others. "Who are you all? You're that blue fox. And the guys from that other place. But you all…" he shook his head, which spun 360 degrees until he continued. "It doesn't matter. I found Wario! Well, I mean, we were walking, and we reached this place, and we got lost, but we found each other. This place is bad, Mario, it's really bad. But I know one route where there are no soldiers."

"Mario," said Fox awkwardly. "Who is this? What is this?"

"This is Dry Bones," said Hammer Bro, patting his friend on his shell. "And he's someone we can trust."

"Where is Wario?" Mario asked.

"At some tunnel in that Goomba village. I left him there, I told him to find help, and I came back here to wait for you."

"And you said you found a route through the town? A safe route?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah. You could take the long way and Wario may get bored of waiting, you know him, or you could follow me and we could get there within the hour. Maybe less, if we hurry."

"I trust him," said Hammer Bro.

"I do too," said Mario. He looked at the others. "Think we could make it?"

"This is a bad idea," said Falco. "But what the hell? No risk, no reward."

"Master Hand said this is a stealth mission," said Link. "Walking into the enemy is not very stealthy."

"We aren't splitting up," said Hammer Bro. "And I'm going with Dry Bones regardless."

Metaknight unsheathed his sword. "I suggest we keep a close eye on him."

Dry Bones looked unfazed. "Wonderful! Wario's been missing you guys; he'll be ecstatic!" And he led them into the town.

A few minutes later, deep within the village, Yoshi came to a realization: "Mario, we didn't come from the Legend of Zelda realm, did we?"

"No, we didn't," answered Mario. "Why?"

"Dry Bones knew where the tunnel was. How did he if we never showed him?"

They all stopped. Dry Bones sighed. "When you're thinking on your feet, it's hard to fill all the holes." He brought out a walkie-talkie. "I got Mario. Capture him."

"You two-timing motherf-" Falco was interrupted by several dozen soldiers running from all directions at them. Far outnumbered, and being shouted at to drop all weapons, the dozen complied and were promptly knocked unconscious, and dragged toward the coliseum.

* * *

Wario and Prince Peasley walked through the Beanbean Kingdom from the tunnel to the castle that stood gloriously in the center of the land. Along the way, they spoke about the army, the realms, and the Kingdoms. Prince Peasley was cheerful and optimistic about the entire ordeal.

"It's fourteen against one, you know?" Prince Peasley said happily. "We'll stop them in no time!"

"Actually, it might be twelve against three," said Wario. "I came from the Mushroom Kingdom, and that place is gone. There's another place, Sleepland or something, that is just as bad."

"Have you heard of Rebellion?" Prince Peasley asked without dropping his smile.

"Well I was heading there, but-"

"You're going the wrong way, then," Prince Peasley chuckled. "Rebellion's that-a-way."

"I was separated from a friend," said Wario. "We were attacked by those soldiers and I only got away. They might've followed me here."

"You're only now telling me this?" Prince Peasley asked.

"You pointed a sword at my throat," said Wario defensively. "I was betrayed, but I never said I was attacked, and I forgot."

"Was the same friend who betrayed you the one who you were separated from?"

"Two different friends."

"I see. Well, you're safe here, for now anyway. My Kingdom has the strongest army of the realms, even stronger than the one in Final Destination," said Prince Peasley proudly. "However, I don't believe you'll stay long enough to see it in action."

"Why?"

"My Queen is protected by the most amazing castle in the realms. She'll be deep in its depths and you and I will be right beside her. We'll see no action, but we'll be safe."

"Queen?"

"Queen Bean! The most glorious lady in all the realms! Cheerful, pleasant, and beautiful."

"I see," said Wario, unconvinced. Prince Peasley, oblivious to Wario's tone, pointed out the castle which already towered over them. "That is one large castle."

"I'm glad you think so," said Prince Peasley, flipping his blonde hair back. "Quickly, now, we've spent too much time! I believe my Queen is going to be giving orders and we must listen or we'll be very far behind." He ran toward the town.

"I see," repeated Wario, struggling to keep up.

* * *

The next day as the sun was just rising over the horizon, a messenger was invited into Master Chief's office, a common occurrence at that time of day. Master Chief, sleep-deprived and fuming, barked at the messenger to speak quickly.

The soldier spoke with a stutter, caused by his fear of Master Chief and the quality of the news he was explaining. "Cackletta has gotten a bit eager with her troops. She, uh, has begun the attack on the Beanbean Kingdom without your consent."

"No huge loss; Cackletta is too intelligent to lose too many troops," muttered Master Chief. "My new plans will not reach her in time, but I'm sure her plan will be successful enough. She is a ruthless and vengeful bat, but she's cunning. Is that all?"

The messenger shook his head. "Bowser reported that he captured some people. He was really excited about something. Some Mario character."

Master Chief gasped. As the messenger raised his eyebrows in surprise, Master Chief said hastily, "Did he mention anyone else? Any boys, or monkeys, or blue foxes?"

"No, he didn't mention anyone else," said the messenger suspiciously, backing away slowly. "Just this Mario and some Luigi person. I'm not sure what they'll do to them, but I assume it will be murder." He paused a few seconds, thinking. "Oh yes, and the second attacks have commenced."

"According to plan, then. Did Bowser catch them in the Mushroom Kingdom?" Master Chief asked slowly and deliberately.

"Yes."

"Then I want you to sprint to the Mushroom Kingdom and tell Bowser not to kill Mario. Under no circumstances is he allowed to kill Mario. Tell him to bring Mario to me. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," said the messenger quickly, sensing Master Chief's urgency, and sprinted out of the door. Unfortunately, a few miles before the tunnel to the Mushroom Kingdom, the messenger tripped and sprained his ankle, unable to tell Bowser the message and doomed to Master Chief's wrath.

* * *

Mario awoke early in the morning in a windowless jail cell. He rubbed his eyes to get them accustomed to the dark before remembering why he was there in the first place. He had been tricked and he had led his friends to their doom; they were trapped like rats, unable to fulfill their mission and save Nintendo World.

"All because of Dry Bones," Mario muttered. "All because we thought we could trust him."

"Mario," said Luigi's weak, faraway voice. "You're okay! I heard them last night take someone from your cell. I thought it was you."

"Luigi, are you all right?" Mario asked.

"I'm fine. Just tired. I think they took Hammer Bro."

"Oh no," said Mario. "Is everyone else safe?"

"We're safe," said Fox from another cell. "Everyone but Hammer Bro is here and healthy. They didn't kill us, so they need us for something. Mario, we're in your castle. Can you think of any reason why they wouldn't kill us?"

Mario remembered the distant Bowser's Castle. "Bowser's here."

"He'd want to humiliate us, and then kill us," said Waluigi. "He'd want to show his enemies who was more powerful. He wouldn't want it to be quick."

"I thought Bowser was taken a long time ago," said Luigi. "We hadn't seen him in months."

"You remember those Supreme Generals Master Hand talked about?" Mario asked. "Bowser's one of them. He was apparently let free, and now he's here."

"Fitting," spat Yoshi. "And he's going to kill us?"

"He'd want it to be fair," said Mario. "He'll go one on one with all of us separately, or have it twelve on twelve. Be prepared to fight to the death."

"Good luck with that," said King Dedede. "They took my hammer, my only weapon. They took Metaknight's sword and Krystal's gun." He pointed to his cellmates.

"They took all of our weapons," said Link. "If we ever escape, we have to find them."

Just then, a door creaked open and light shined into the room. An army of Bowser's minions marched into the dungeon. Leading them was Dry Bones, who was carrying keys and grinning slyly. He faced Mario, who was alone in his cell.

"I hope you understand why I had to trick you," said Dry Bones with mock sincerity. "It was either my brothers or my fake friends." He unlocked the cell. "I suggest you comply. We will kill you if you fight. And Bowser made sure we far outnumbered you."

As Mario walked into the mob of creatures, Dry Bones pulled his collar down to whisper in his ear. "Do note, though, that I am always looking to make things interesting." He subtly handed Mario a note. "Seeing you die would be far too boring."

Several minutes later, the group was being marched, surrounded on all sides, through the dungeon. They trudged slowly, making no threatening movements as to not provoke the tense army's retaliation. Despite this, Falco swore with every step and King Dedede made sure to step on the back of one Koopa's feet as often as possible.

"Where is Hammer Bro?" Mario asked.

Despite several hammer bros in the army raising their hands and shouting "here", Dry Bones answered, "He was taken in for questioning. I'm sure Bowser will tell you all about it."

They were led into the drained moat, which had now become the arena of the coliseum. Thousands of soldiers, cheering, booing, and shouting, were sitting in the stands and surrounded the group. Several guns were fired in celebration, and random junk was thrown at the victims who stood before the crowd. Above them floated Bowser's Castle, now dangerously close to crushing them all and whose shadow surrounded everyone. In the center of the crowd, pronounced by the elaborate red fabric that surrounded their balcony, sat Bowser, grinning victoriously, and Kamek, hunched over and squinting. As the door slammed behind the group, Bowser stood up and threw a large object at them. As the object rolled to the group's feet, they noticed it was Hammer Bro's head, its eyes wide and furious and mouth frowning with malice.

"Mario," Bowser said softly, although it echoed above the crowd's roar and quieted many. "It has been far, far too long since our last meeting. As I recall, you threw me into lava, did you not?" Mario remained silent; however he glared at Bowser with as much hatred as he could muster. Luigi, surprised by Mario's expression, stepped to his brother's side to reassure him.

"It does not matter. Let bygones be bygones, as I always said." Bowser pointed at Hammer Bro's head. "You may be wondering what happened to that traitor. It's simple: I caught him, I interrogated him, I found out everything from him, and I killed him. He was never on your side, Mario. He told me everything. The location of Rebellion, the reason you're here, everything."

The group exchanged worried glances. Only Mario, too angry to care, and Fox, watching Bowser intently, ignored their friends.

"You don't seem scared," said Bowser. "Say what you feel. I want to know before you die."

"It's simple, Bowser," said Mario as softly as Bowser. "I feel anger. Not at you and not at Hammer Bro, but at myself. I failed my friends; I let them down. And now we're here at your mercy, waiting for our deaths. I'm not scared, if that's what you want. I'm disappointed."

"That isn't the right answer," said Bowser. He stood up and leaned over the side of the balcony, imitating Mario's high pitched voice. "The right answer was 'I'm scared to death that I'm going to die, Lord Bowser; please don't kill me and my friends! I promise we won't do anything!' and then I'd laugh and order my minions to kill you on the spot. But, things don't go as planned. As I'm sure you know."

At this, they formed a circle to watch all of the minions, which had completely surrounded them and were holding weapons threateningly.

Mario looked at the note Dry Bones had given him. It read _"Weapons in Throne Room, in glass case. Break and escape. ~DB"_ He crumpled it and looked at Bowser again. "So what happens now?"

"I command my army to kill you. They kill you. I watch the blood with joy. I'd kill you myself, but your friends are with you and they'd get in the way. So then, minions: attack!"

With the gleeful roar of the crowd and Bowser's laughing echoing in their ears, those in the arena collided into one chaotic and bloody brawl. There was no finesse behind the minions' attacks, no coordination, no sensibility; there was only bloodlust and vengeance, for all of their friends and family who had fallen to the brothers, to avenge them and kill the ones responsible, as well as fear, for if they failed to kill but survived the battle, Bowser's punishment would be beyond pain. They blindly ran at their enemies without strategy, and they were blocked and countered or hit their allies as a result. In fact, more injuries were sustained from friendly fire than the enemy.

But all of the injuries were on Bowser's minions. Unlike the minions' chaotic, sporadic, insane motions that barely qualified as attacks, the group worked together, watched each other's blind spots, and successfully repelled all attacks. They maintained their circle, never giving up an inch, and despite their being outnumbered, they managed after nearly twenty minutes of nonstop fighting to break the enemy down. They didn't kill; they couldn't, but the fallen bodies of the army lay around them.

"I thought you said," Fox panted. "Bowser would give us a fair fight."

"He obviously thought it was fair," said Falco. "Guess we proved him wrong.

Less than a dozen of the once-threatening army stood before them, and the fear of losing their comrades was too much to bear. The koopas and hammer bros that remained backed away from the group. The soldiers in the stands were absolutely shocked to see the group not only survived, but uninjured and still able to fight.

Bowser got to his feet. "Now what?" Yoshi groaned. "If it's another army, I'm getting out of here."

"We're getting out as soon as we're able," said Mario. "They left the gate opened; we can run into the castle and use the throne room passage to get out."

"Do you think it's still standing?" Luigi asked, turning around to look at the demolished castle.

"If it isn't, we'll find the passage anyway," said Mario. "We've spent far too much time here, and we're incredibly tired, and we're unarmed. If Bowser's minions don't kill us, the soldiers will."

"Enough talking!" Bowser shouted. "I'm impressed, my enemies, I really am. Some of my finest troops and you beat them down without ever showing weakness. I'm even slightly fearful of that pink one who swallowed one of my hammer bros. But, now that you've shown your strength, it's time for me to finish you off."

"Bowser, sir, what power to you request?" Kamek humbly asked, presenting his staff.

"None, Kamek, I can destroy these people without powers," said Bowser. He jumped off of the balcony and landed in front of the group with a ground-shaking crash. "So who's first? Or do you want to take me all at once." Kirby stepped forward. "Oh, the cannibalistic pink thing. Good choice!"

"Puyo, Puyo, Puy!" Kirby said, flipping his hammer in the air.

Metaknight and King Dedede nodded. "He's going to distract Bowser while we escape." Metaknight said, while King Dedede ran to the door.

"That's suicide!" Luigi gasped.

"Don't underestimate Kirby," said Metaknight. "Now let's leave while they're distracted."

Kirby charged at Bowser, keeping the attention of the soldiers as far away from his friends as possible. Bowser prepared for an attack, but Kirby leaped high into the air and landed behind Bowser. As Bowser turned, Kirby swung his hammer, but Bowser blocked it with his arm and swiped. Kirby jumped back to avoid the swipe and landed a few feet away.

"Acrobatic," said Bowser calmly. "You'll be a fun punching bag." As he stepped forward, Kirby jumped into the air again, and swung his hammer as he spun horizontally, giving Bowser two powerful swings to block. After the last swing, while Kirby was rightening himself, Bowser charged, scraping across the ground and slamming into Kirby. Kirby narrowly avoided Bowser's horns, but felt the full brunt of the blow and was sent flying across the arena. He crashed against the wall, bounced off, and landed lightly, panting and bruised.

"We have to help him!" Mario said as they knocked out the few guards and began to sprint inside.

"He'll handle himself," said Metaknight. "You have to trust him."

"He's a small pink ball against a giant turtle," said Fox. "I agree with Mario: he's going to die if we leave him."

"You're going to die if you stand alone in the open while the rest of us have gone," said Metaknight. "Now let's get our weapons and leave; he'll catch up."

Fox and Mario looked at each other, struggling with the decision, before noticing the many fingers pointing in their direction and realizing their chance of escape was decreasing with every second. With one last look at Kirby, hoping they'll see him again, they left the arena and slammed the door behind them.

Kirby spared a second to glance at his departing friends before turning his attention to the monstrous turtle that stood above him, bearing down on him like a savage creature of nightmare. Steam burst from the creature's nose as he breathed, the ground shook with each step, and his eyes gleamed with victory. He thought the small, pathetic creature quivering beneath him would have been a worthy fight, but this one hit had knocked everything out of him.

"Any last words?" Bowser asked, reaching toward the sky with his claws prepared to swipe and opening his mouth to broil Kirby.

"Puyo," said Kirby quietly, as he spat out the hammer he had swallowed midflight and uppercutted Bowser with all his strength. Bowser was knocked several feet in the air and then to the other end of the arena as Kirby swung again horizontally. The beast had been knocked cold, and the puffball stood victoriously. Kirby threw the hammer aside, puffed as hard as he could, and flew past the hundreds of soldiers that had been shocked senseless by this outcome.

"Bowser!" Kamek cried, jumping out of the balcony to care for his master. This was the spark that created a firestorm of soldiers jumping out of their seats, firing blindly at the disappearing puffball, and sprinting to find the prisoners that escaped. It was absolute chaos, and the fact that the coliseum was recently built meant that the soldiers had no idea where to go to leave, so they scrambled around aimlessly for precious minutes before the exits were found.

In the midst of the chaos, Dry Bones stood on the empty balcony, watching Kirby disappear and chuckling to himself. "Good luck, Mario," he said calmly. "You've just made things very interesting."


	11. Chapter 10

The group sprinted through the dungeon and up several flights of stairs to the main floor. This had been blown apart, as many of the walls had crumbled and blood and debris were everywhere. They ignored this as best they could, even though memories of past adventures started to appear briefly in their minds. Running through the once-majestic hallways produced more of these memories, even though every other step they had to avoid a large stone boulder. They reached the throne room and saw their weapons put on display, hanging on wires in large glass cases.

"Unbelievable," Fox muttered. "They're so sure they've won they're spending more time joking around than defending the realm."

"Which is why we haven't been shot," Waluigi reminded him. "Use it as an advantage; don't complain about it."

They smashed the glass with the nearby debris and got their respective weapons from the cases. Then they ran through the tunnel, which they noticed had been revealed. They ran as cautiously as possible, knowing full well they could encounter a soldier at any moment, despite their haste. A few minutes and several scrapes and bruises later, they exited the pitch black tunnel. No soldiers were in sight, so they sprinted into the nearby trees.

"Where do we go now?" Fox asked, turning to Mario.

"Goomba Village," said Mario.

"Hey, didn't that skeleton guy talk about it?" King Dedede asked. "He said he left that Wario guy there."

"Exactly, and Kirby was with us when he said it, so he'll go there too," said Luigi excitedly.

"Actually, I think we should go back to Rebellion," said Mario to everyone's surprise. "You heard what Bowser said. He knows everything. Kirby isn't going to kill Bowser, so we have to assume he'll tell everyone. We have to evacuate Rebellion."

"Mario, Bowser was lying," said Fox. "When he recited what Hammer Bro 'told' him, he stared at Hammer Bro's head; he wouldn't look us in the eyes. He paused briefly, subtly, but noticeably, before each sentence. That wrinkled blue-robed creature looked away from us. All were signs that he was lying. Hammer Bro didn't say a thing."

"That's why they killed him," said Krystal, and then realization hit them. One of them had died already, and one of them was missing. They collectively mourned silently for a few moments before Mario finally spoke.

"I believe you Fox; I hope you're right. We go to Goomba Village, then, and hopefully Kirby will already be there. This mission is now for Rebellion and for Hammer Bro."

The journey to Goomba Village was uneventful. With their weapons in hand, they felt more confident and powerful than ever. Nevertheless, they remained cautious, fully aware that every soldier in the town would be searching for them. They stayed to the outskirts of the city, circling in a wide arc around it and only moving along the main path as the Kingdom disappeared from view. They reached the small village to find Kirby waiting nervously by a tree. When Kirby saw them, he jumped for joy and waved at them.

"Kirby!" Metaknight shouted. "I knew you would best that beast! How did you do it?"

"Puyo, puyo, puy," said Kirby.

As the others looked at them in confusion, King Dedede translated, retelling the entire fight from Kirby's dramatic and over-the-top point of view. Everyone patted Kirby on his shoulders proudly.

"Puyo? Puyo?"

"No, Kirby, I'm afraid Hammer Bro will not be joining us," said Metaknight. An awkward silence followed.

"Should we, uh, continue?" King Dedede muttered. "Where's the tunnel?"

"Somewhere around here," said Mario. "Don't know exactly, but it's here."

They searched the village for the tunnel and found it behind a pile of bushes and some trees, engraved in a rocky cliff.

"Time for another trippy journey," chuckled Falco. "If anyone hears screams of pain or agony, take it as a bad sign."

* * *

Not for the first time, there was a long line of messengers outside Master Chief's office. After hearing reports of every man in the army down to the color his dog likes, Master Chief was getting incredibly sick of these messengers. The current messenger was reporting something useful, but to him it sounded like a droning bee.

"The Earthbound realm has fallen with very little resistance. Reports say that a young boy and girl were killed, but only after they had tried to blow some men up with toy rockets."

"Fine, fine, leave," Master Chief groaned. The previous messenger had literally given a half hour speech in great detail about every man in his platoon. After him, Master Chief was thankful to have a short, sweet message. It was surprising that something as insignificant as two children's deaths were mentioned, but he shrugged that aside. He called the next messenger in.

"I have been sent from the Mushroom Kingdom to inform you that Bowser has let some prisoners escape," the messenger said.

Master Chief recalled what he had been told a few hours earlier. "He let Mario escape? How did that happen? Who else escaped?"

"Yes, he did; he tried to fight them along with his minions and failed, and at least ten others escaped. Eyewitnesses have described two men dressed in green, one dressed in purple, a large green reptile, two foxes, one brown and one blue, and one thin blue bird, one fat blue bird wearing a robe, and two ball-like creatures, one blue one pink, the latter of whom took down Bowser."

Master Chief let these descriptions sink in, trying to recall what he had been shown months ago. "A blue fox, a blue ball, a man dressed in green, and Mario," he said. "They were all in the Mushroom Kingdom." He looked at the messenger. "Leave. Tell every other messenger to write down his message and return to his post. I have to think."

When the soldier had done so, Master Chief locked the door and went to his desk. He got out well-drawn, but inaccurate pictures of those he had been told to track down. Fourteen targets. Four of which had been captured by one of his Supreme Generals and escaped easily.

"They were there for a reason," said Master Chief. "They had to have been; that green elf is from the Legend of Zelda, which is connected to Rebellion. They'd all have to be moving away from Rebellion, but for what reason?"

Master Chief thought long and hard, but he couldn't come up with an explanation. He had no idea where they'd go, what they'd do; this only told him that Realm Representatives were running from Rebellion, going against what they'd sworn to do. They knew where they'd go, or they wouldn't be in such a large group.

"The problem is finding out where," said Master Chief as he walked over to the door and opened it. Outside he found a large stack of papers nearly a foot high. Glancing at the top paper told him it was about a "Dane" and "feelings", two things that he had gotten sick of hearing about an hour ago. He groaned. "Why did they send me here?"

* * *

Wario and Prince Peasley arrived at Beanbean Castle within the hour. As they passed the gates and the guards stood aside to let them pass, Wario noticed them stare at him suspiciously. The pair walked through the city, taking note of the lines of green knights carrying spears that had formed a perimeter around the city. Several thin, tall towers, shining and sleek, standing high above all else, silently watched the surrounding landscape. Although the knights were standing still, tense, calm the village itself was in chaos. Civilians ran around in a frenzy, saying good-byes and packing belongings, shopkeepers frantically tried to sell their last goods, and lookouts sprinted out of towers to report their findings.

"What's happening?" Wario asked as they were pushed aside by a large family.

"We're evacuating the city," explained Prince Peasley. "We have been preparing for months now. Unfortunately, people have only taken the warnings seriously recently."

"What changed their mind? It seems like you didn't even know the armies were attacking until I arrived."

"It's a shame to have to ask this, but if you were warned about an approaching threat with no other information, would you take it seriously? Would you act accordingly?"

Wario dropped his gaze. "I didn't."

"Neither have these people. Yesterday, a family vacationing near Chucklehuck Woods was attacked and most slaughtered. Only a young teenage girl survived, and she ran to the city in a panic, shouting about men with portable cannons. I'm sure you know what attacked her family, but this caused the panic. Master Chief is here, my friend, so we have to evacuate before any more civilians are killed."

They passed a house where a family was throwing furniture out into the street. Wario had to dodge to the side to avoid a chair, swearing as he moved.

"We were going to go to the Mushroom Kingdom," said Prince Peasley. "With your news, though, I don't know where we'll go."

"Oh…"

Prince Peasley nudged his shoulder. "Don't feel guilty my friend. You may have just saved all of these fine people's lives. We only have to explain to our glorious Queen and trust in her fine judgment."

They entered the large castle to find it much less chaotic than outside. Nearly every knight had left to guard the city, so it was nearly empty. They walked through the main hall and into the throne room, where the queen of the Beanbean Kingdom slept on her throne. While enormous and bulbous, and by far the largest woman Wario had ever seen, she demanded respect, but emanated kindness. Even as she slept, even with the panic of the village, she maintained her signature large grin.

Despite this, Wario only noticed the bulges that many would have tried to ignore; he scratched his own fat before muttering, "My god."

Oblivious, Prince Peasley sighed. "Isn't she the most beautiful woman?" He stepped forward and humbly bowed. "My Queen, I'm afraid we have terrible news."

Queen Bean woke up quietly, blinking several times, before looking at Peasley. "Ah, my son, welcome back. Let's hear the news." She saw Wario and her grin grew. "Hello my good friend."

"Hi," said Wario, raising his hand awkwardly.

"I'm happy to be back." Prince Peasley stood straight and proud as he announced, "This man, Wario, is from our allied nation of the Mushroom Kingdom. I encountered him near the tunnel to the realm with grave news: the realm is under attack and has fallen to Master Chief's men."

"Everything's gone," explained Wario. "Blown up, in flames, dead, it's all gone."

"Oh dear," whispered Queen Bean. She made her decision immediately. "We will not go to the Mushroom Kingdom then. It's too much of a risk. But we have to escape; Master Chief is here, and we cannot risk him overpowering us. Rebellion needs our help. Prince Peasley, tell the escorts that the people will be going to Oho Oasis. They will be safe from his wrath."

"Of course, my Queen," Prince Peasley said, bowing deeply, before leaving.

"Prince Peasley, uh, said I'm coming along?" Wario said questionably.

"Were you sent here to warn us?"

"Not exactly," Wario muttered before briefly explaining what had happened to him, not mentioning the fact that he had chosen to split from the others.

"Yes, you're coming along," said Queen Bean when Wario had finished. "After all, you were heading to Rebellion to begin with. We'll just be taking a longer route."

"Longer route," Wario muttered, sure that these simple words were much more deadly than they appeared.

* * *

Wario was treated to a large feast with what was obviously the finest, last special food with the rest of the village. They ate in the center around a large conflagration, speaking and having fun for many hours despite the chaos of earlier. After stuffing himself with the delicious food to bury the day's events, Wario entered the comfortable guest room of the castle and dropped onto the bed, falling asleep instantly. He was roughly shaken awake a few hours later, but to him it felt like seconds.

"Whuzzat?" Wario grumbled. "Go away. I'm sleeping."

"Sir guest, man, person," said an equally exhausted knight. "Get up, now, there's an army coming and you need to leave."

"The army can wait until morning," Wario sighed, turning over and putting the pillow over his head.

"No it can't! You have to leave!" The knight shouted. He tried pulling Wario out of bed, but soon realized he didn't have the strength. "Queen Bean commands it!"

Wario groaned loudly, kicked the knight away, and swore. "Alright, alright, you pest, I'll go."

"Pest? I'm just doing my job."

"You live a sad life if your job is to yell into people's ears and wake them up when they're peacefully sleeping."

"My job, thank you very much, is to give people messages no matter the cost," said the knight proudly. "Obviously I shouldn't have been assigned to such a grouch.

"Obviously not, Mr. Knight," said Wario. "Give your Queen the message that I'm coming."

"It's Chuckie McBeans," said the knight. "And I will, sir." He bowed and left the room.

* * *

A few minutes later Wario was awake, yawning and unkempt, and standing in front of the castle. Queen Bean was giving a brave and noble speech to instill confidence in her people, but he was listening to none of it. He was searching the crowd and saw Chuckie in the front row. He felt bad for his attitude earlier, so he walked over to apologize.

"A new start," he muttered as he approached Chuckie, ignoring the confused glances from the audience. "Listen,, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier." It took a few seconds before Chuckie realized Wario was talking to him. "I was grumpy because you woke me up. That's all; I wasn't thinking straight."

"I've, uh, never met you in my life, sir," said Chuckie, turning his attention back to Queen Bean.

"Of course you have. We met in my bed last night- I mean, of course you've met me! You woke me up because Queen Bean told you to."

"Oh," The knight chuckled. "You have the wrong person, sir. My name is Beans McBeans. You're referring to my twin brother. Chuckie is somewhere else in the crowd."

"I see," said Wario awkwardly. "Sorry for bothering you." He decided to apologize later and listen to the rest of the speech.

"And so, I conclude," shouted Queen Bean as the audience held its breath in anticipation. "that not I, nor my Prince, nor my knights, nor my people will fall before any man, soldier, or bat! The people of this Kingdom are brave, and strong, and powerful, and they will never be conquered! We will come back soon, my people, we will come back to a safe and preserved Kingdom, welcomed by our brave knights with open arms. For the Beanbean Kingdom!"

"For the Beanbean Kingdom!" the crowd chanted.

As the crowd applauded, Prince Peasley walked up to Wario. "We are leaving now."

"Where?"

"To an abandoned university downriver that holds the tunnel to our next destination: The Jungle Japes realm."

Wario followed Prince Peasley to the East side of the castle, where the crowd had followed Queen Bean and anxiously waited for her parting words. Wario and Prince Peasley stood by her side as she spread her arms wide.

"My people, do not ever fear for my safety or yours. You are in trusted hands. As soon as I depart, you will be taken to a beautiful island where you will be safe and secure until your return. Good luck, knights! May the light of the Beanbean star shine good fortune upon you!" She turned and crossed the bridge, leaving her waving, smiling, hopeful people behind.

The trio traveled south, Prince Peasley circling them and searching for any enemies.

"I do hate misleading them," said Queen Bean, sighing.

"Misleading?" Wario repeated.

"You do not know the might of the army, or the technology they possess. My only hope is that they do not find the island before we are able to save them."

"I'm confused. You don't think your knights can hold them?"

"My knights are brave and want to defend the kingdom until their dying breath. I will not allow that, and gave them the order that they fight until they are outnumbered, always keeping the path to the castle open. They will retreat when the castle is breached, and will escape via the river. They will float to awaiting knights at the beach, where they will be escorted to Oho Oasis and healed of any injuries."

She looked at Wario, who maintained his look of confusion. "My apologies. I didn't answer your question: no, I am absolutely sure they will not be able to defeat the armies Master Chief possesses. My people compared to them are primitive and weak; we will need the combined effort of all of our armies to fight them. As I said, I only hope we are able to save them before they are found."

"So what will we be doing until then?"

"We will be traveling through the realms and finding as many Realm Representatives, such as myself, as we are able. Your friends are hopefully safe in Rebellion and will stay in Rebellion. We will bring everyone to Rebellion, where I am sure we have a plan."

"How many realms?" Wario asked. "Will it be a long trip?"

"Not long at all," said Queen Bean. "Merely a three-day trip, even if we travel slowly."

The university came into view; an abandoned old building that had decayed so much the entire roof had caved in. Construction had begun long ago, but made very little progress. The only positive was that a large crowbar had been left behind, and Wario picked it up cautiously.

"We forgot to give him a weapon," Prince Peasley muttered. "My apologies, Wario, we should have been more thoughtful. You shouldn't have to use such a tool as a weapon."

"It's fine, it's fine," he swung it against a tree and heard the satisfying cracking of wood. "Hopefully I won't use it."

"Very resourceful," said Queen Bean admirably. "I like your friend, my Prince."

They walked around the back of the building to find a small hole in the ground. Thinking it was the tunnel, Wario peered inside and whispered a threat to the nonexistent listening soldiers. Prince Peasley tapped him on his shoulder and pointed to the much larger tunnel just a few yards away. Wario got to his feet and walked quickly and robotically ahead, keeping his blushing cheeks out of sight.

The familiar blue aura surrounded them and heightened their senses. They realized suffering was on the other side of the tunnel; suffering, danger, and death. A large threatening presence flew overhead, engulfing the realm in darkness. A powerful blast of blue light ended the premonition.

"We should turn back," Wario said, visibly shaken.

"We cannot," said Queen Bean. "We must get to Rebellion, and there is no other way. She took the lead, despite the tunnel's noticeable warnings and near pleadings for them to turn back. Prince Peasley had no choice but to follow her, and Wario realized that he had the same problem. The trio stopped at the edge of the tunnel, where the sounds of jungle life, the smell of tropical plants, and the warm air suddenly overtook them. Gone was the pleasant if frightening aura, gone were the fear-inducing premonitions, and gone was the familiarity of the Beanbean Kingdom.

They took a collective deep breath, surveyed the surrounding jungle, and took a few steps into the wild. Almost immediately, they were surrounded by several camouflaged soldiers carrying assault rifles.

"Looks like K. Rool was right," said one soldier with a large, boyish grin. "We did find some survivors. Wonder what's in that tunnel, though."

"Who cares," said another soldier. "Not our orders, not our problem. Let's bring them to Rool."

The soldiers forced their weapons to the ground and pushed them forward with their guns, leading them into the forest and toward the overrun Kong Village.

* * *

Mario entered the Beanbean Kingdom and encountered two other knights standing guard. He cleared his throat to get their attention. They jumped in shock and turned to Mario, spears raised.

"It's Mario," one of them muttered. "It's Mario! He's returned!"

Mario waved his hand. "My friends and I seek the assistance of Queen Bean. Will you escort us?"

"Isn't it time for us to go anyway?" One knight asked the other.

The other looked at the sky. "By god I think you're right. Yes, we'll take you to our queen. Please hurry, though, we're late enough as it is."

After Luigi was praised for his brave journey, which he tried to pass off as minor despite his embarrassed blush, with Mario, the group traveled through the Kingdom and to the village. They could see a large black blob marching out of the southern forest. An explosion shook the ground.

"Is that an army?" Yoshi shouted.

"It's a lot of soldiers," Fox replied. "Must be more than a thousand."

"Damn it!" Falco muttered. "Let's get going! We have to beat them!"

They raced to the Kingdom, reaching the two-line perimeter of knights clothed in metal armor and carrying spears of varying lengths. Before they got too close, the front line quickly pointed their swords horizontally, forcing them to stop. The two knights they recruited stepped in front.

"They're to see the Queen," one said.

A knight from the line stepped forward. "The Queen has left."

"Where?" Mario asked.

Above the whispers of "Mario", the knight said loudly, "To the abandoned university. No one knows why, but she said she would return shortly."

"Was there anyone else with her? Her son, Prince Peasley?" Mario asked.

"He and a fat, yellow-clothed man are traveling with Queen Bean," said the knight.

"Wario?" Waluigi asked.

"I do not know his name." An explosion shook the ground. "What business do you have with the royal family?"

"We have to talk. Can you let us through, so we can get to the university?" Mario asked.

A knight beside him whispered in his ear and his face softened. "Very well, Mario, hero of the Mushroom Kingdom. We will let you through." He motioned his hand and a small path was made. "Make haste; danger is nearing."

One by one, the group traveled through the lines and into the empty city, leaving the two knights behind. Broken glass and ruined furniture littered the streets, and the occasional messenger sprinting from East to West or vice versa was the only soul in the entire city. One such messenger noticed Mario and took a second to slow down, wave, and shout a greeting, but he crashed into a fence and tripped. They ran over to him and helped him to his feet.

"Are you alright?" Yoshi asked.

"Fine, fine," said the knight who was called Beans. "Sorry for bothering you. I just wanted to meet the hero. My brother would be so jealous right now!"

"Are you walking fine? You took a bad fall," said Yoshi. "Do you need help? I could walk with you."

"Yoshi, what are you saying?" Mario asked cautiously.

"Uh, no, I'm fine. I didn't want to be a burden. It was nice to meet you." Beans took off.

Another explosion shook them. "We can't waste any more time," said Link. "We have to leave before the armies come."

"Can't we help them?" Yoshi asked. "They're all going to die!"

"If that is their decision, then we cannot change it," said Metaknight.

"Mario," Yoshi spoke slowly. "I lost my Birdo. You can't imagine the pain I'm going through. I want to kill those responsible. They killed her. I need to avenge her. I have to stay, to help them, to take down as many of them as I can."

"Ready the bullet bill!" A faint cry broke the silence.

Yoshi stepped closer to Mario. "You have your mission. You all have your mission. I have mine. I have to avenge everyone who died in the Mushroom Kingdom. I have to avenge Birdo. Mario, please understand."

"You can't do this," Mario said. "You're going to die."

"I have to do this."

"Mario," said Metaknight. "It's his decision. Let him make it."

Yoshi stepped back, toward Beans, toward the army. "I have to do this, guys. Good luck. I hope we see each other again." He sprinted away after a single wave, leaving his friends behind.


	12. Chapter 11

Yoshi chased after Beans, his conscience eating away at him as he abandoned his friends. He needed to avenge Birdo, but he knew that this was an incredibly stupid decision. It was too late now. He made his choice, and he had to see it through. He reached the perimeter of knights as they watched the giant black blob crawling closer with each passing second.

"Hey!" Yoshi shouted. A few knights turned around. "Any spare armor?"

"You, Yoshi, are not a Beanbean Knight," said one. Yoshi could see by the gold stripes on his helmet that he was in charge. "Go with the civilians to the beach. We shall protect this city. You needn't worry."

"I'm not worrying about the city. I want to fight. You wouldn't turn down an able-bodied man would you? Give me a weapon, armor, and orders."

There was some muttering. "Can you run?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll be a messenger. You'll get the armor and the weapon, don't worry, but you'll be by my side until I need something delivered. Is that fair?"

Yoshi grumbled. He didn't know what was fair anymore. Nevertheless, he complied, and was ordered to stand on the castle walls. He watched the army get closer, the minutes agonizing and long. He was hoping something would happen soon. Anything, no matter how terrible. Just so long as it wasn't waiting. He glanced every few seconds at his new boss, looking for a scribbling pen or a sealed letter. Nothing.

A shot rang out, a messenger falling to the ground with a fatal wound in his head. Yoshi felt excited because something had happened! And the leading knight was writing a letter, giving him something to do. He jumped down from the wall as another shot rang out. A knight in the front lines dropped, but the army grew closer. Yoshi ran up to the knight and saluted, controlled more by adrenaline than respect. The knight handed him the message, and he ran.

Half-way through the abandoned city he ran into Chuckie, literally. Neither was focusing on the actual running and had his thoughts elsewhere. They helped each other up.

"I thought you left," said Chuckie. "Or, I heard from my brother. With Mario, and the others."

"I stayed to help," said Yoshi. "I couldn't abandon this place."

Chuckie smiled. "You're a noble dinosaur. The rest of your kind left months ago."

"Well, I'm not from the Beanbean Kingdom. I'm from the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Oh? Then why are you still here?"

"We're neighbors, allies, aren't we? We help each other out."

Another shot echoed, breaking through the silence. They looked at their messages. "Gotta go," they said urgently and raced to their respective sides. Yoshi was now on the East after getting his message, and this side had taken more losses. As he reached the wall, he saw a line of dead bodies, with more being carried as snipers continued picking targets.

Yoshi looked into the distance, but there was no black blob like on the other side of the city. "Where is it coming from?" He wondered aloud.

A few minutes later, ten more bodies had been carried into the town. "Why aren't they taking cover?" Yoshi grumbled despite himself. He kept his head down, below the wall, leaning out from safety only to look at the lead knight. "They're getting picked off and they're doing nothing to stop it."

Beans had given his message and climbed up to Yoshi. "We're here only to give our people time to escape."

"Fantastic," Yoshi muttered. "Well do so in cover so your knights don't die."

Beans chuckled silently. "You're not from the Beanbean Kingdom, are you?"

"I told you that a few minutes ago. I'm not."

Beans chuckled audibly this time, and he got a few strange, nervous looks from those nearby. "I get that a lot. You were talking to my older brother, Chuckie. I'm Beans. And as for our knights, they would defend the Kingdom until their dying breath, showing no fear or regret."

"That's stupid bravery," said Yoshi. "I understand sacrifice, but these guys are dying for no reason; they're just target practice."

"Please don't insult these knights," said Beans, pained. "All of the men in my family died as knights, protecting this Kingdom. And these brave men are sacrificing themselves so that our people are able to escape."

Another shot. Yoshi and Beans flinched despite their safety. A body was carried in.

"How many people escaped while this knight died?" Yoshi asked, pointing at the dead body.

"Enough to make his life meaningful."

* * *

Wario, Prince Peasley, and Queen Bean were led by the soldiers into the Kong Village. The village itself had all but been burned to the ground. The bodies of various animals, including Kongs, lay strewn across the jungle floor. Trees were brutally cut down, falling as soldiers mockingly shouted, "Timber!" The screams of creatures filled the air, and they were replaced by gunfire. The village huts were ransacked, and soldiers on break were taking giant bites out of bananas. Soldiers that noticed the trio threw these bananas at them.

"Savages!" Queen Bean muttered. The soldiers had to hold Prince Peasley down and threatened to shoot him on the spot after a banana hit Queen Bean in the face.

As they walked, the sky suddenly darkened, and _The Destroyer_ replaced the sun. At its arrival, soldiers stopped what they were doing and shouted with joy. "Now this place is screwed!" Wario heard a soldier shout.

"Uh, what-" Wario began, but the soldier behind him butted him in the back with his gun.

"Keep walking, fatass. I know it's hard to move those legs, but I'm sure you won't be moving them long."

"How rude," muttered Queen Bean, and she too was butted.

"You keep your filthy, rotten hands off of the Queen!" Prince Peasley shouted, and he was butted, hard, in the head, and dropped.

"I don't want to carry him," said a soldier as they stared at Peasley. "Anyone else?"

"Wanna shoot him and be done with it?"

"No!" Queen Bean shouted.

A soldier walked over. "What seems to be the trouble?" He asked, smiling broadly. He looked down at Peasley and sighed. "Honestly, men, treat prisoners with some respect. What have they done to you?"

"He fought back, James, I was defending myself," said the culprit, snickering.

James shook his head, and lifted Peasley onto his soldier. "You're relieved, soldier. I'll handle him."

"Thanks, James!" The soldier clapped him on the back and left.

James looked apologetically at Wario and Queen Bean. "Sorry about the way they've been treating you. And I'm sorry where you'll be going." He looked at the others. "They're going to see Rool, right?" A nod. "You poor souls. Best of luck."

And so they marched through the village until they reached the tallest tree. A giant wooden staircase led to a tree house near the top branches. Entering the hut, they were met with the terrible stench of death. On the ground, stretched out like a carpet, lay the skin of a young female Kong with a blonde ponytail. The house itself had a bed, a wooden cupboard, and a large desk. Behind the desk sat a giant, fat crocodile, grinning happily as the soldiers pushed the prisoners in.

"I smell meat!" K. Rool sang. "My, my, men, you have brought a delicious feast today, haven't you! And no fur either. I'm not sure whether or not that's a good thing. You do know that stupid Donkey Kong and his nephew are still on the loose, do you not? I ordered you to find him, did I not?"

"Actually, sir, you ordered us to guard the tunnel."

"Ah, so these are from Beanbean," K. Rool whispered excitedly. "I notice you're carrying a third, soldier. Drop him, so I can see his face."

James obeyed, setting Peasley down on a nearby chair and showing his sleeping face to all. K. Rool nearly jumped with joy. With his large size, he had to make due with slamming his fists hard enough on the desk to crack it. "That's him! That's him! He's the one I'm looking for! Well, not the only one, but close enough! Haha! You soldiers probably just got promoted. Throw them into the jail, and I'll contact Chief."

"Why are you looking for my son? What has he done?" Queen Bean asked.

"Eh?" K. Rool looked at Queen Bean. He sized her up. The silent room heard a stomach growl. "You, my dear, what is your name?"

Queen Bean could sense where this conversation might lead. He was, after all, a meat-eating monster. She had to maintain her dignity, however, and answered thusly, "My name is Queen Bean, queen of the Beanbean Kingdom."

"Your new name is lunch," said K. Rool, without a second glance. He was searching the pocket of his cape for something. "You can leave Ms. Bean here. I'll make sure she's comfortable."

"I hope that you don't believe you can talk about me like that, sir!" Queen Bean said in a huff.

K. Rool pointed at his crown. "I'm King. I outrank you. I don't like your attitude. Maybe you won't be lunch. Maybe a midmorning snack." He stopped fiddling through his pocket and got to his feet, revealing his eight feet and over four hundred pounds of pure terror. "You're making me angry, you know, and when a crocodile gets angry, he snaps."

He turned suddenly and stared at the soldiers, his left eye red and bulging and a look of madness in his eyes. "Leave. I ordered you to throw them in jail. Do it." Without a second's delay he took his claws and stabbed them into Queen Bean's shoulders. She screamed in pain, and the soldiers sprinted out of the hut, nearly falling down the steps in their hurry.

Queen Bean clutched her bleeding shoulders and King K. Rool leaned in and whispered very softly into her ear. "You're doomed, your highness. Your Kingdom's going to die, your son's going to die, and you're going to die. Hope you enjoy your last moments in this world. You're going to be in my stomach soon. A fitting end, don't you think?" And then he snapped.

* * *

The soldiers heard the crunch from the bottom of the tree. They shivered despite themselves. Wario looked at Prince Peasley, still unconscious and unaware. A soldier ran behind a tree to throw up. James spat on the ground.

"I feel bad for her," he said. "I really do. She didn't seem that bad."

"Honestly, James, you're really soft. You sure you're fit for this army?" A soldier asked, grimacing as he watched the hunched over soldier.

"It's not that," said James. He motioned for them to walk. His voice dropped to a whisper. "I hate K. Rool. He's a rude, selfish, egotistical jerk. I wouldn't want anyone to be killed by him"

"Be more of a teenager, why don't you?" the soldier responded. "Honestly. You call yourself a man. Suck it up and grow a pair."

Prince Peasley groaned, and his eyes fluttered open. He looked around from James's shoulder and rubbed his head with his free arm. His eyes reached Wario's. "What has happened, Wario? Where is the Queen, and where are we being taken?"

James stopped when Prince Peasley spoke. "Oh, good, you're awake!" He set him down on the ground. "Now you can march yourself! My shoulder was crying in pain, I'll tell you."

Prince Peasley slowed down to walk by Wario. "Has something happened to the Queen? Has she been taken elsewhere?"

"Not exactly," Wario did not, absolutely did not, want to tell Prince Peasley that his mother had been killed. He didn't know Peasley well enough; he believed that Prince Peasley would go on a murderous rampage and get shot as soon as he killed one soldier. He couldn't let that happen. "I'll tell you when it's safe."

"When exactly will it be 'safe'?" Prince Peasley responded. "Can you at least tell me where we're going?"

"To jail, my green friend," said James. "We're nearly there. You can discuss whatever you want in there."

"Wonderful," Prince Peasley sighed.

"Honestly, James, we should gag them. I'm tired of hearing their nasally voices."

James turned around and winked. "No need. We outnumber them, and they're unarmed. Let them speak. It's not like they have a chance to escape. Might as well make them comfortable."

The group reached a small wood shack on the outskirts of the village which opened into a tunnel dug into the ground. The soldier led the pair through the tunnel until they reached a large cell with bars made of steel. The bars themselves were crooked and uneven, and it was clear the jail was recently built. The only occupant was a very old monkey hunched over in the corner, with a white beard reaching to his knees. The soldiers opened a steel door and forced the pair inside.

"I'm sure you won't be in here long, guys," said James. "Not sure if that'll be good or bad for you. Probably bad, I'm sorry. But at least you won't be underground." Most of the soldiers left. Only a single guard remained, and he leaned against the wall and stared at them.

"Are we safe now?" Prince Peasley asked. He was starting to panic. "Where is my Queen?"

"We met King K. Rool, a giant alligator, or crocodile, while you were asleep. He recognized you, said he'd call Master Chief-"

"Oh no…"

"Queen Bean defended you. She asked why K. Rool wanted her son. He got mad, told us to leave. Then we, uh, heard something crack. I don't think she made it."

Prince Peasley dropped to his knees. "Queen Bean… no…"

They sat in silence for several minutes, broken only by an occasional sniff. The old monkey walked slowly over to the pair, looked at Prince Peasley, and shook his head sullenly.

"Tell me," the monkey said, its voice croaked and cracking. "Did you happen to see any monkeys along the way? Possibly a giant ape wearing a tie, or one wearing shorts and a t-shirt, wherever he got it, or maybe a smaller one wearing a red hat."

"I didn't see anyone like that," answered Wario.

The monkey looked at Wario piercingly. "You met King. K Rool, then. And survived. That boy he wants must be very important."

Wario shrugged. Prince Peasley got to his feet. "I'm called a Realm Representative," he said. His voice cracked nearly as much as the monkey's. "That's why Master Chief wanted me. They're going to take me to him, and he's going to kill me."

"What?" Wario shouted. "We can't let that happen! Isn't Mario one of those?"

"Oy," said the soldier. "Shut up in there!"

"A Realm Representative," the monkey repeated. "I recall my grandson calling himself that. Silly boy. I thought it was his imagination again. I guess he was telling the truth."

Prince Peasley coughed, and his voice was back to normal. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. We may be spending days together. I am Prince Peasley, of the Beanbean Kingdom."

"I'm Wario, of the, uh, Mushroom Kingdom."

The monkey glanced at Wario, and then said, "I'm Cranky Kong. It's nice to see someone has manners."

"If you don't mind me asking, you mentioned your grandson. Does his name happen to be Diddy Kong? Is that your grandson? Do you know where he is?"

"So many questions," said Cranky Kong. "Don't make this old mind think so much." He chuckled at his own joke. "Yes, Diddy Kong is my grandson. And no, I don't know where he is. If I remember, I asked you if you had seen him. The small one in the hat."

Prince Peasley sighed in relief. "At least he escaped before this happened."

"What did happen?" Wario asked.

Cranky Kong groaned. "You ask an old man to recall pain and death."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't."

Cranky Kong raised his hand. "I'll tell you only because I believe my time is short. We were attacked yesterday, late in the morning. It wasn't an exciting day, so I was asleep."

* * *

In the largest tree house in the tallest tree, Cranky Kong slept in a wooden chair. On a bed beside him was Donkey Kong, sleeping peacefully with half of a banana in his mouth. The banana harvesting season was over, and there was no potential threat nearby. They hadn't seen King K. Rool in over a year, and the tikis hadn't bothered them in months.

Suddenly, Funky Kong, the shorts-wearing ape, burst through the door with Diddy Kong on his shoulder. Cranky Kong immediately woke up, nearly falling out of his chair in surprise, but Donkey Kong slept through it all.

"Donkey Kong, dude, you gotta wake up!" Funky Kong shouted, shaking Donkey Kong awake. "King K. Rool's here!"

"That old fool?" Cranky Kong asked. "Oh please, that crocogater or whatever steals bananas for a living. How is he a threat?"

"He brought friends," said Funky Kong. Finally Donkey Kong was starting to wake up.

"What's wrong, Funky Kong-" Donkey Kong began, before Diddy Kong jumped onto his shoulder.

"We have to go, Donkey. Now." Diddy Kong said urgently.

"Why are you two in such a hurry," said Cranky Kong, rubbing his eyes. "I just said he isn't a thr-"

King K. Rool's voice echoed through the windows: "Dear Kongs of Jungle Japes, I have a message to you from my commander: Master Chief!"

"Oh no…" Diddy Kong whispered. "Now we really have to go."

"Pee later," Cranky Kong hissed. "I want to hear this."

"Actually it isn't his words. I just want people to know that there is a giant army at your front door in some clever way… ANYWAY! My words are: We're going to storm your village, kill you all, and burn the village to the ground! You wanna fight? Come at me! And Donkey Kong, I'll await your arrival."

"How many friends did he bring?" Donkey Kong began, before a roar of gunfire interrupted him. The noise was deafening, and the monkeys shivered at the resulting shrieks of pain.

"Donkey," said Diddy Kong. "We have to leave."

King K. Rool's voice came once more. "Oh yes, and you're surrounded, so don't try to run."

"How could they surround us?" Cranky Kong asked. "They'd need at least a thousand men."

"That's about how many they have." Funky Kong said. "We need to be fast. We'll use the trees, right? K. Rool can't fly."

"Right. Hold on tight, Diddy!" Donkey Kong began, before he saw Cranky Kong looking at the ceiling. "Funky, what about Cranky Kong?"

"Oh, let an old man live in peace," Cranky Kong said. "I'll slow you down. These brittle bones aren't fit for climbing anymore."

"I'll carry you," said Funky Kong. "We just have to leave now. Go on ahead."

"Hurry," said Diddy Kong. "Hurry, Donkey." Donkey Kong nodded and climbed out of the window and up the tree.

Funky Kong held his arm out. "Let's go, Cranky, sir."

Cranky Kong sat down. "I told you: let me live in peace. Just get as many out as you can."

Funky Kong looked out the window, and lurched back. "K. Rool's coming. Cranky, are you one hundred and twenty percent-"

Cranky Kong whacked Funky Kong in the shoulder with his cane and smiled. "Go. I can handle him."

Funky Kong nodded, whispered, "Good luck." And climbed out of the window. A few minutes later, Cranky Kong heard the complaining and groaning of a psychotic crocodile as K. Rool walked up the rickety and awkward steps.

"Damn these Kongs. Can't they build anything right?" A moment of pause, and the doors burst open. Three soldiers rushed through, covering all sides. One motioned toward Cranky Kong, and the three aimed at him.

"Alright, Donkey Kong. Any last words before my soldiers rip you to shreds, and then I rip those shreds up?"

"Yeah, you stupid croc: I'm not afraid of you." Cranky Kong said, standing up and glaring.

King K. Rool saw Cranky Kong and did a double take. "I haven't been gone that long, have I, Donkey?"

"You are as stupid as you look."

K. Rool glared. "And you're as old as you look." He commanded the soldiers to take him prisoner and took off in a huff, nearly tripping down the steps, to search for the remaining Kongs.

* * *

"The soldiers massacred the entire village," said Cranky Kong sadly. "Nobody was spared, except for me, and that's only because I'm bait. A few minutes later, I heard him call to Donkey Kong that I was taken hostage. I hope my son isn't stupid enough to rescue me."

"Well, you're still in here, aren't you?" Wario asked.

Prince Peasley had sat down from the weight of the story. "If you don't mind, how many Kongs were in this village?"

"Fifty or so. We didn't stand a chance. As I was taken through the village, I saw bodies piling up. Friends and family, all dead. Lanky, Chunky, Tiny, Kiddy, Candy, and even Dixie. K. Rool held her body up right in front of me and gloated that he'd do something special to her."

Wario recalled the makeshift rug in Donkey Kong's old home and shuddered. "I'm so sorry."

Cranky Kong wove his hand weakly. He stared at the ground. "Diddy Kong told stories of other places, he called them 'realms', like the Mushroom Kingdom. What if those places are under attack like Jungle Japes? He told us that we had an entire army to protect us in case we're threatened and can't protect ourselves. Why hasn't that army come? Have we just been abandoned?" He looked at Prince Peasley accusingly.

"I don't have much left to live for, you understand. I'm an old man with very few years left. I've lived a happy life, a good life. My last days in this world and this happens." He shook his head. "You two are young. You don't understand. Excuse my rambling."

Prince Peasley rested a hand on Cranky's shoulder. "We've all lost something in this harsh time," he said. "In order to survive, to make those losses mean something, we have to rely on each other and work together."

* * *

Mario and his team exited the town to many wishes of luck and congratulations. After waving and putting on a happy façade to help with the knight's morale, they sprinted off toward the abandoned university. Along the way, they noticed two large towers moving in the distance, one on each side of the city, both near the airport.

Luigi slowed to a slow jog. "Were those there when we were last here?"

"No, it wasn't," said Mario. "Master Chief's army must've built them."

"Should we destroy them?" Luigi asked. "It would help Yoshi."

Mario considered, but on closer inspection he noticed the ground beneath them moving; a platoon of soldiers was concealed beneath each tower's shadow. They decided against putting themselves in more danger and continued onward.

The group reached the university without encountering any enemies, found the tunnel, and entered the Jungle Japes realm quickly, but cautiously. As usual, the Star Fox trio scouted ahead, combining their heightened senses with the random yet helpful effects of the tunnel to search for nearby foes. Nothing was nearby, as the guards hadn't come back from putting away the prisoners, so the group ran into the forest.

Immediately, through the smell of water and plant-life, they could smell smoke and death. Above them, _The Destroyer _sat above, a monolith shrouding the jungle in darkness. The group saw this metal ship lazily floating above, and it reminded them of the overwhelming power it held.

"Is it following us?" Luigi asked.

Krystal grimaced. "Master Chief might know. Bowser must have told him."

"He would've sent it to Beanbean Kingdom before he'd send it here," said Link. "It must be a coincidence."

"He'd try to cut us off, and it's too dangerous to send it to Pokémon," was Krystal's rebuttal.

"It isn't charging its cannon, so it's not immediately after the tunnels, right?" King Dedede noted.

The group looked at the ship again. "He's right," said Metaknight. "Cutting us off must not be its primary mission, or it would have probably destroyed the tunnels by now."

"Has it been here all morning?" Falco asked.

"Most likely not," answered Fox. "Otherwise the tunnels would have been destroyed."

"Then where else has it been since the last time we saw it?" asked Waluigi.

Nobody wanted to answer that question. They decided not to speculate and to focus on finding the Realm Representatives. Fortunately for them, that particular creature was watching them from the nearby trees. He and his larger uncle landed on the ground, and the Star Fox Trio immediately turned around, guns pointed at their heads.

"Easy, guys, it's only us," said Diddy Kong, hands above his head. "You don't know how glad I am to have found you."

"Although you are a strange bunch," continued Donkey Kong. He hadn't bothered raising his hands. "And I'm not quite familiar with all of you."

"We'll get to know each other later, you big ape," said Falco, sheathing his gun and grinning.

"We're glad to see you too," said Mario. "Care to join us?"

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong looked at each other nervously. "Yes, but we'd like to ask for your help," said Diddy Kong. "Some people need rescuing."

"Is one of those people Prince Peasley?" Krystal asked.

Diddy Kong nodded. "The other one's Wario," said Donkey Kong.

Waluigi stepped forward before anyone could respond. "We're in."


End file.
